Koneko
by Emotional-Hikari
Summary: (FINAL Chapter up) There is only so much one can take in pain and guilt - but if these became too much... what is there to do? What do we believe in? Who - do we love? (Sorry for sum! Pls R&R)
1. Pro: Fear, Guilt & Death Walk Together

GAHHHHHHH!!!! STUDIP NET!!!! Gomen nasai to all those who had review me before! ff.net was being annoying and kept putting chapt 2 in place of chapt 1, and vice verse!  
  
Anyways... gomen minna, but I still hope to see you all still!! ^^  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Warnings: Um... shounen-ai hints?  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
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"Balinese! One of the targets is heading your way!!"  
  
"On to it!" Youji ended the transmission, hearing footsteps echoing off the walls of the alley. He set up his watch, waiting till the target was close to strike; soon a causally dressed man ran passed, not noticing the blond hidden in the shadows. The glint of the silver wire glided through the dark, wrapping around the target's neck, cutting off the air to his lungs.  
  
Youji held the two ends of the wire, pulling them tighter as the man began to struggle, trying to release himself from the assassin's hold. He stopped struggling, his arms falling limply by his sides. Youji waited a few more minutes - just to be sure the target was dead - before releasing his hold on the wire's ends. The body fell to the ground, landing with a silent thud; Youji let out a sigh. He hated this part of the job, but it was worth it for all the trouble this man had caused.  
  
The blond sighed again, turning towards the dark alley to rejoin with the others. He paused, hearing noises behind him; he pushed his shades up all the way to cover his eyes, before turning to face the noise. Youji blinked, seeing it was only a girl, probably not much older then 15, holding a little white and brown and black spotted kitten in her arms. He considered just walking away, as if he didn't know what had happened - but the look, the fear in her eyes showed that she had seen more the she should.  
  
The girl glanced between the tall assassin and the dead body on the ground, her wide brown eyes finally resting on him. She was trembling, holding the kitten protectively in her arms. Youji took one step towards her; panicked, the brunette fled, running into the dark night. She did not get very far when something wrapped around her legs, tying them together and tripped her. She let go of the kitten, freeing her arms to quickly catch herself, but she was too slow and fell on her face. The kitten had disappeared into the shadows, but still laid low, as if waiting for the moment to pass.  
  
Youji slowly started walking towards the girl, his wire still wrapped around her legs. She was desperately trying to untangle herself by the time he was within 2 feet in front of her. The brunette looked up at him with a fearful expression, not saying a word, but Youji knew she was screaming inside. Youji released the wire around her legs, holding his hand out to her; the girl looked at him confusingly, trying to get a glimpse of his eyes. Timidly and hesitantly, she reached her own hand out to take his; the blond tightened his hand around hers, helping the brunette to her feet.  
  
She managed a quick glance over the brim of the older man's sunglasses, her eyes tearing at the expression he was showing in his forest green eyes.  
  
~~~~~*~~~~~  
  
The tall assassin looked back down the alleyway leading to the street where he was before, the guilt, the feeling of burden building upon him, weighting him down. He found it a little hard to breath, a little hard to walk, but somehow he'd managed. He knew the others would probably be waiting for him at their rendezvous point, and he didn't want to keep them waiting for long. He turned his back to the light, heading back into the shadows of the night - vanishing the same way he had appeared.  
  
After a few minutes had passed, the little kitten carefully crawled out of it hiding place in the shadows, making its way over to the girl, who laid on her side against the paved surface. It meowed, gently bumping its nose against the brunette's cold, still hand. It began to meow louder, rubbing its face against her arm, trying to wake her up. The marking on her neck were small thin indents which would be nothing more then red marks in the morning; her brown eyes stared lifelessly into the black night, her tears slowly drying against her skin.  
  
~~~~~*~~~~~  
  
Again... I'm sooo sorry minna-san. But pls review!! I'll try to make sure it won't happen again.  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	2. Chapter 1: Unexpected Visit

Well, here's the next chapt, since I did say (indirectly, though) that it was sort of a series. -_-"  
  
Anyways, this is a little different then what I normally do, so - I hope you guys enjoy it.  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai hints (possible angst)  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
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"Youji-kun, I brought lunch up for you!! Youji-kun?" Omi knocked on the elder member's door, carefully trying to balance the tray on one hand. There was no answer from the other side; Omi sighed, shaking his head. He placed the tray down on the floor in front of the door, staying only a moment longer before heading back down to the shop where the other members were.  
  
// Youji-kun, what's wrong? Why don't you come out? // They - well, he had at least - noticed that the older man had started acting weird lately after that one mission and had soon isolated himself in his room - that had been nearly 6 days ago. He hadn't seen the blond since then, not even at meal times and wondered if Youji was eating at all.  
  
Omi entered the shop with a worried expression on his face, a sigh escaping his mouth. Ken looked over to the boy, hearing him sigh, a questioning look on his face.  
  
"Oi, Omi? Something wrong?"  
  
"I'm worried about Youji-kun, Ken-kun! He hasn't been out of his room since that one mission!" The brunet hummed, reaching an arm around the younger blond's shoulder in a friendly gesture, a reassuring smile on his face.  
  
"Daijoubu Omi! I'm sure Yo-tan will get over whatever had happened soon. You know how he is with mission sometimes..." Omi stared down at the floor.  
  
"I hope so..."  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Omi placed the tray on the counter and began to put the food away, throwing out whatever had spoiled. He was alone with the exception of the older blond up in his room. Aya and Ken had gone out on a mission, leaving him and Youji alone at home. Omi had went upstairs to check on the man, but found the tray still sitting outside the door untouched and the fore- mentioned door locked.  
  
Omi sighed again for the millionth time that day; he was worried for the man's health, but he wasn't too sure what to do or what he could do. Ken seemed fairly confident that Youji would get over this, Aya - the redhead didn't seem to show much concern for the man's condition.  
  
// Youji-kun... What are you doing up there? In you room? And why? //  
  
He placed the soiled dishes into the sink, running the water briefly to rinse off extra crumbs or grease. It was Ken's turn to do dishes and the mission supposedly wasn't that long or difficult. Packing away the rest of the utensils, Omi headed up for his room, pausing when he noticed the open newspaper on the table. He let out an annoyed sigh at the printed paper on the table.  
  
// Aya-kun probably left it... that's weird! Aya-kun always put it's away when he knows everyone's done with the paper! //  
  
The youngest member shrugged his shoulders, walking over to the table to fold the paper and place in the back corner, but paused when he eyed the article it was open to. Omi skimmed through the words, matching the description to the picture: A girl, Haruko, Janni; age 15 found dead about 5 nights ago. Markings on her neck indicated she had been strangled, but how was still unknown.  
  
Omi stopped, folding up the paper and placed in the corner; he only needed that much of the info to understand what had happened. He climbed up the stairs, his mind still trying to understand why Youji had killed her. The blond had just passed Youji's bedroom door, when the possibility had occurred.  
  
// She must have seen Youji-kun kill the target that night. //  
  
Omi paused outside the older man's door, staring at the wooden barrier. He let out a sigh, before continuing on down to his own room, silently closing his door shut.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
The night air blew through the open window, warm air blowing against his skin. Youji sat up right on his bed, staring at the wall in front of him; he would always hear the younger blond's calls about bringing lunch or dinner or whatever meal of the day it was - but he was never hungry. If he was, the complaints from his stomach went unheard through the guilt in his mind.  
  
The winds picked up, blowing a few blond strands across his face. He only stared at the wall, any features hidden in the darkness of his room. He could still visualize clearly in his mind, the expression, the tears - the fear in that girl's eyes; how she had known she was going to die by his hand.  
  
// Nothing... Nothing can forgive this - this sin... //  
  
Youji knew it part of being Weiss - witnesses to a mission must to always be terminated if too much had been seen, but somehow he felt it wasn't right to have that - silent rule. That he had killed an innocent teen just because she witnessed him murdering a murderer. The guilt didn't land on Kritiker's shoulder - it landed on his, on the people in Weiss, the ones who actually do the hands-on, dirty work. They were the ones who took the guilt and pain of those who may lost a family.  
  
The girl's death, had been too much for him; it consumed him, swallowed him into darkness, trapping him with the pain he had to bear on his own. He had no one to ease the pain, he was alone - always alone; isolated in his room, fated himself to a slow death.  
  
// So tired... but the nightmares - the dreams... //  
  
Youji dropped his head, burying his face in his arms; he wondered of which he die of first - hungry or lack of sleep.  
  
He felt a short, light vibration through the mattress, hearing a soft thud along with it. He looked up, tired and dark green eyes searching the bed for a foreign presence; he soon spotted something small on the left bottom corner of the mat. He eyed it with weary interest, watching the outlined shadow move closer to him - it wasn't until the shadow meowed that Youji realized it was a cat.  
  
The cat came into a more brighter area, where the lights from the street below shone through the open window. Recognition dawned at him as he studied the cat more; it was a kitten - specifically the kitten that the brunette was holding the night he had killed her.  
  
Youji looked at the kitten with a painful expression, the guilt showing on his face; the blond turned his head away, not wanting to face the little white, brown and black furry animal.  
  
The kitten made its way over towards him, gently rubbing its face against his legs, meowing softly. Youji stared down at the little kitten, carefully reaching a hand out to lightly scratch it behind the ears; the creature purred, moving its head so the blond was hitting the right spots.  
  
"You like that, don't you?" The kitten meowed happily, contently rubbing against his leg. Youji smiled at the gesture, unfolding his legs to sit cross-legged on his bed. Almost immediately the kitten climbed on to his lap, but was too small to fit and just laid in between his crossed legs. Youji smiled again, his hand petting it on the head; the kitten purred.  
  
"You're cute little fella." Youji laughed slightly when the kitten meowed with slight pride to the statement; his smile however died out, replaced by the painful look he had before. The kitten looked up at him, blinking at why the man had suddenly stopped petting him.  
  
"I - I know this probably won't help, but... I'm sorry for killing your owner. That girl... Do..." Youji paused, looking down at the kitten; the little bundle of fur laid there, looking up at him expectedly for the rest of the question.  
  
"Do you think - she could understand? Even though it's too late now?" The kitten meowed, nodding its head along with the answer. Youji blinked down at the creature in his lap, before a small smile appeared on his face. Carefully, he lifted the kitten off his lap, placing it left of his pillow; it mewed as he climbed under his covers, settling himself in.  
  
"It's time for bed - I think we've both had a rough night." He worked to suppress a yawn, but it didn't work; Youji stretched his arms out, snuggling down on his pillow. The little kitten yawned as well, curling itself into a little ball, tail wrapped loosely around its body. The two slowly drifted off to sleep, both for once, having a peaceful night.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Cho!! Yes, poor Youji had been feeling very guilt since he killed Janni!! But - now he has little koneko to make him feel better!! *smiles* (ff.net is picking about symbol made emotions for me!)  
  
Anyways, arigatou for reading and pls review too... it's always nice to hear what you have to say! *smile*  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	3. Chapter 2: Koneko Stays!

YO!! I apologies again for the repeat! Stupid net kept messing up this story!!! GRRRRRR!! Anyways... I hope still see you around. ^^  
  
Anyways, the chapter 3 that WAS supposed to be up the FIRST TIME!!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai/yaoi hints  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
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Ken moved around the shop, placing different pots and plants into their place, while Omi help set up the register with Aya for opening. Omi was slightly distracted, however. He couldn't seem to focus his mind on the current events going on around, his mind kept going back to the article, how it connected to the older man still locked up in his room. The younger blond jumped, letting out a surprised noise when he felt someone grab him on the shoulder.  
  
"Oi, take it easy. It's just me!"  
  
"A-ah! Gomen ne, Ken-kun. I guess I was just thinking, I didn't notice you... gomen!" The brunet smiled, waving his hand to the matter showing it was alright. Omi let out a sigh, deciding on helping Ken move some of the smaller pots to their display. They had just finished setting up and about to flip the sign over, when the back door opened, revealing a face that hasn't been seen for nearly 7 days. Omi's face brightened, seeing the eldest member out of his room and downstairs in the shop.  
  
"Youji-kun!!!" Before Youji had a chance to close the door behind him, Omi ran at him, giving him quite an embrace.  
  
"Youji-kun! I was so worried about you! Locked up in your room like that!!" The boy tried to force back his tears, but a few had managed to escape his eyes. Youji smiled gently, one arm going around the blond hugging him.  
  
"Gomen Omi. I didn't mean to worry you so much - but I'm fine now."  
  
"... Youji-kun..." Omi buried his face in the older man's chest, when he heard an odd noise coming from above him. He tilted his head up, eyeing a small white, black and brown spotted kitten partially hanging, partially sitting on the older man's shoulder. Omi blinked, still wrapped up in his embrace he hadn't noticed that Ken and Aya had come up to them till they said something.  
  
"Eto, Youji? You can't..." Ken began, a nervous look on his face.  
  
"It's not staying! The cat goes!!" Aya finished, being more direct and firm, then the way Ken would have put it. Youji's arm slid off Omi's back, reaching to hold the kitten from falling off his shoulder; he looked at the two with a slight pout.  
  
"Demo! I promise I'll take care of it!! I swear!"  
  
"The answer is no!!" Aya stated, arms across his chest, a harsh glare on his face. Youji opened his mouth, but closed it again a second after, down crested eyes staring at the floor. He looked very much like a child who had found a puppy and asked his parents if he could keep it, and they said no. Omi turned around to face Ken and Aya, clapping his hands together with a wide smile on his face.  
  
"Ken-kun? Aya-kun? Can I talk to you for a sec?" The two nodded their heads; Omi carefully led them away from the older blond, ushering them into a corner of the shop.  
  
"Oi, oi! Omi, what's this about?" Ken asked, eyeing the boy suspiciously; Aya, too, held the same expression of suspicion. Omi just kept smiling, facing the two with the most innocent look he could put up.  
  
"The kitten stays!" Both the brunet and redhead looked at him.  
  
"...Nani?"  
  
"You heard me - koneko stays!!" The blond still kept his smile up, again clapping his hands together. Aya narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest again; Ken looked at the boy with a slightly firm look.  
  
"Now look, Omi! This isn't..."  
  
"The - Kitten - STAYS!!!" Omi's smile suddenly disappeared, his eyes narrowing to more then half their normal size; he forced the last word through his closed teeth, emphasizing the trouble if the hint wasn't caught up on. Ken jumped back in surprise at the look, a nervous look on his face; Aya leaned back a little, but somehow did feel a little intimidated by the younger blond.  
  
"H-h-hai...!" Both replied rather shakily; Omi's smile reappeared, seeming to be wider then before. He turned on his heels and heading towards Youji, who was cradling the little kitten in his arms, looking very depressed.  
  
"Youji-kun, you can keep the kitty!" Omi exclaimed, feeling very warm and good about himself at the sudden happiness in the older man's eyes.  
  
"Hontoo ka?" Omi nodded his head. Youji made a small cheer, holding the little kitten above him, bringing it down close enough to touch his nose to its. The kitten meowed in response, licking the tip of the blond's nose when it was close enough to do so; Youji laughed, cradling the creature back into his arms, rocking it slowly.  
  
Ken and Aya only stared at the sight; Ken gapped, Aya just stared. It was highly unusual for their current resident playboy to make a big fuss over keeping an animal, kitten or not. Ken turned his head to face Aya, staring at the redhead with a confused look.  
  
"Oi Aya? Do you think that is Youji?" The redhead only hummed, muttering something about the older man being too childish, or 'immature' about the matter. Ken just watched as Aya made his way to open the shop and get straight down to work. The brunet let out a sigh.  
  
// Typical Aya... But where did Youji get a kitten? And when? //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"Alright Omi, fess up! Why did you want Youji to keep the kitten?" Ken asked, standing in front of where the younger blond was sitting; Aya stood just behind him, a mencing glare on his face. Omi looked nervously at the two, before his face turned down into worry and desparation.  
  
"Cause I want Youji-kun to get better! Not worse!" Ken blinked, unable to see the logic behind this answer. The older blond was out buying supplies and little things for the kitten - which he had taken with him, much to the delight of Ken and Aya.  
  
"Maybe you don't really care, but Youji-kun was killing himself in his room! He didn't come down for meals, he didn't eat the food I brought up to him everyday, and I doubt he'd even had a shower then!!" Ken just blinked, standing there with his hands still resting on his hips. Aya understood - he understood why the older man had done it too; just because he had killed a girl who'd seen a mission kill.  
  
"This kitten... it made Youji-kun so happy! He's eating again and probably sleeping better too! Mind you, I'm right next to him, I can him hear screaming from his nightmares!!"  
  
"Okay, okay! I get the point!! Geeze!" Ken stood back to his height, going over to the couch passed Aya and ploped himself down on it, a slightly exhausted sigh escaping his lips. Aya looked over to Omi with a slight glare; the boy looked up at him innocently, making himself look younger then he really was. A sigh escaped the redhead's lips, when he noticed Omi's starting to tear; he knew it was just an act, but the blond was too good at it to make it look like an act.  
  
"Alright, but Youji shouldn't be dependant on outside influences!" A wide smile appeared on Omi's face, clapping his hands together once again for the third time that day. He stood to his feet, hearing the front door closing and thanked Aya before going off to see what Youji had gotten for the little kitten. Aya hummed, heading upstairs to his room; Ken watched the redhead disappear through the hall, before deciding on going to see if Youji or Omi needed help.  
  
Ken walked into the kitchen, seeing Omi helping Youji put away things in the cupboard or in the corner. He glanced around the room, his eyes rested on the little furry creature, sitting on the table, crouched down in a pounce, eyeing a piece of string intensely. Ken smiled as the kitten pounced it, tangling itself in the bit of string. Seeing the kitten unable to wriggle itself free from the loose, yet tangled bond, Ken walked over to the table, carefully tugging and pulling the string off the kitten's legs.  
  
"Cute isn't he?"  
  
"... He?" Ken asked, blinking at Youji. The older man nodded his head, going over to the kitten to tie a green ribbon loosely around the furry neck. Before he could, the kitten pawed at the ribbon, thinking it was an object for play; Youji laughed, shaking his head at the kitten.  
  
"No, no Neko-chan! You can't play with this one."  
  
"Neko-chan? Youji-kun, you can be more creative then that for a name!" Omi commented, taking the piece of string from Ken's hands, holding it up in front of the kitten to allow Youji to tie the ribbon on.  
  
"I was tired! Besides, he seems to response to Neko-chan." The kitten pounced the string, holding it down with its paws before pulling at it with its teeth. Omi let out a hum, a hand on his chin.  
  
"Well, then you can call him Ne-chan! A little shorter then Neko-chan!" Youji picked up the kitten, getting it to look up at him; the kitten meowed, starlting green eyes looking at him questioningly for distupering his activity. Youji looked at the kitten with a genlty smile, scratching it lightly under the chin.  
  
"Ne-chan... shall with call you that from now on? Ne-chan?" The kitten meowed loud enough for them all to hear, nodding its head with the answer. Ken blinked at the kitten, then at Youji.  
  
"Oi - he actually understands you?"  
  
"I guess so..." Youji placed Ne-chan on to the floor, letting him roam around the house to find and develop a favorite place for anything. A favorite place to sleep, to prowl, to servay his territory or just a place to hang around. Youji smiled as he watched Ne-chan disappear through the door, before going back to the task of putting things into their proper place.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Yee!! Youji gets to keep the kitten!! And the kitten becomes very useful later... very, very, VERY useful!! ^^ Thank you for reading!! And I'm really, really sorry for the weirdness of the system... ff.net is wonderful, but it can be faulty sometimes...  
  
Pls review!! Hear what you think so far...  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	4. Chapter 3: Confession

Yoho! Minna-san!!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but with the Junior year and all... ARRRGGGGHHH!! Stress, stress!!! *Just kidding* Actually, I have sooo wrapped in an original idea that I'll probably never write out, but I'm wasting time...  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai hints  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: Probably won't go any higher then PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya stretched his arms above his head, slowly climbing out of his bed. He blinked, feeling somewhat frustrated, but why seem to have flown from his memory. He shrugged his shoulders, heading over to his closet to change; he put on the usual black v-neck shirt and black pants to match. The redhead stared at his reflection in the mirror, frowning at the mess of red hair, tangled and disheveled from sleep. He quickly ran a hand through his hair, trying to jerk out the knots without too much pain. Satisified with the job, he headed downstairs to the kitchen to grab a quick bite before opening the shop.  
  
He still had a nagging feeling that he should be annoyed with something, or someone. Aya paused at the bottom of the stairs, hearing noises from the living room. He looked towards the door-frame, before moving to look inside at who was making noise; he saw it was the older blond, sitting on the couch playing with a little white, black and brown kitten.  
  
Aya narrowed his eyes, finally remembering what had him gotten him annoyed and who was responible for the feeling. He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at the blond and the kitten on the couch; the two didn't seem to have noticed him, being too busy wrapped in amusing each other. Aya cleared his throat, getting Youji to look up at him.  
  
"Ohaiyo Aya!" The older man smiled at him, which surprise the redhead a little. It wasn't the usually flirtation grin he had on his face, it seemed to be a more - natural smile; one that made the older blond look much younger then normal. Aya kept the surprise down, still glaring at the two.  
  
"Something wrong, Aya?"  
  
"That - cat! Is not allowed on the furniture!!" Youji pouted at the redhead, before nodding his head to the new rule. He picked Ne-chan off the cushion and placed him on his lap, petting him on the head.  
  
"Ne-chan, Aya says not to go on the furniture anymore, okay?" Ne-chan glanced up at Youji, before looking at the redhead glaring down at him; Ne- chan narrowed his green eyes. Aya could've sworn the kitten was glaring back at him. He hummed, walking back to the direction of the kitchen; he heard a hiss from behind him and Youji talking.  
  
"Now, now Ne-chan! You shouldn't talk back at people!! Espeically if it's Aya!!" The redhead paused, gazing over his shoulder to see Youji just turning his head away from him.  
  
// Like a cat can really understand!! //  
  
With a last glance, he turned back to his original course, heading for the kitchen and then to the shop to open it for the day.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"All of you understand the assignment?" Manx asked eyeing the four men sitting in the room. All four members nodded their heads, awaiting for the rest of the their instructions. Manx explained to them of a ring of drug dealers who ere not only shipping illegal drugs, but producing them as well.  
  
"Oh and one more thing before I forget - Youji, about a few nights ago, I'm sorry it had to happen." Youji dropped his daze down a little to the floor; he still felt guilty about Janni's death, but he was slowly beginning to bear with it.  
  
"Daijoubu..." Manx nodded her head, continuing on with her instructions.  
  
"Okay. Now you'll each..." She stopped, hearing a noise from below her. The redhead looked down, spying a white, brown and black patched kitten, rubbing itself gently around her legs. Youji panicked, hanging slightly off his seat - it was one thing to convince his teammates to keep the creature, but it was a completely different matter to convince Kritiker.  
  
Aya noticed the sudden nervousness on the blond's face, taking note of the blank expression on Manx's. He inwardly hoped that Manx would get some sense into the older man and tell him to get rid of the kitten.  
  
"Wai!! Kawaii!!" All four Weiss members stared in surprise at the woman as she picked up the kitten in her arms. Manx looked to the four shocked members in the room, still holding the kitten.  
  
"Which one owns this kitten?" Youji slowly stood up to his feet, a weak, nervous smile on his face.  
  
"Ano... he's mine..." He replied meekly. Manx looked at him with surprise.  
  
"Sou ka? What's his name?" The older blond walked towards her, carefully taking the creature from her arms. The kitten meowed happily, rubbing its face against Youji.  
  
"His name is Neko-chan! But Omi shortened it to Ne-chan!"  
  
"It must've been quite a sight to find him, Youji."  
  
"Actually - he found me." Youji commented, seating himself and Ne-chan on the couch in between Ken and Aya. Aya glared down at the kitten, who sent a similar look back. Manx blinked a bit, before clearing her throat and continued to explain the rest of the mission.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya strode ahead of Youji, attempting to shut the door to lock the man out, but Youji had managed to catch it before he could.  
  
"OI!! Come on Aya!! It was an accident!!! I didn't mean to..."  
  
"Urusai!!" Aya snapped, rushing up to the sanctuary of his room, barely giving the blond a chance to explain what had happened. Youji stopped outside of the redhead's closed door, shouting through the obstacle in front of him.  
  
"Aya!! You're too sensitive!! AYA!!!" Youji stopped, seeing it was obvious that the younger man wasn't going to listen. He let out a sigh; feeling defeated, Youji headed for his own room, ready to plop himself on his bed.  
  
He opened his door, slowly shedding off his coat and shoes, before heading over to his bed. He turned around so that he fell back first to the mattress, arms spread out to his sides; Youji stared up at the ceiling, remember exactly what had happened after the explosion had knocked him and Aya down. He felt his face heat up when he remembered how he and the redhead had landed; Youji closed his eyes, trying not to think about that now.  
  
Still feeling a little tensed, Youji jumped when he felt something soft brush over his face. He sat straight up, searching around his bed till his eyes rested on the little kitten, staring up at him with welcoming eyes. Youji sighed, letting a small laugh as his petted Ne-chan on the head; Ne- chan purred, moving to place himself on the man's lap.  
  
"Konban wa, Ne-chan!" The kitten meowed, looking up at him with its green eyes; Youji smiled, his own green eyes meeting with Ne-chan's.  
  
"Mission was pretty successful... Ken and Omi got separated though - I hope they're okay..." Ne-chan sat there on his lap, listening patiently as the blond ranted on an how the mission had went and how they had managed to kill all their targets and destroy the place. Youji felt his face flush again at the memory of the explosion; Ne-chan let out a questioning mew at the blush, curious green eyes staring up at the blond.  
  
"You wonder why I'm blushing..." Ne-chan nodded, jumping from Youji's lap to the bed, allowing the blond to turn around and sit cross-legged on the bed.  
  
"Well... don't tell anyone, but... during the explosion - before actually - Aya and I were cut off by guards and didn't get away fast enough from the time set..." Ne-chan tilted his head, letting another questioning mew. Youji took in a deep breath, his face feeling very warm.  
  
"The force sent us both flying and... I - I fell on top of Aya..." Youji had to looked down at the bed to force out the last few words; Ne-chan stepped into his view, a quizzing look on his furry face.  
  
"Well... normally it wouldn't be a problem, but... the way I landed on him... It was embarrassing really, and I didn't move for a long time. That's why Aya is kind of pissed off at me." Ne-chan's expression changed and he began to make little hissing noises at the mention of the redhead's name. Youji shook his head, carefully placing the slightly angered kitty on his lap; he laid Ne-chan on his back, gently rubbing his tummy. The kitten stopped hissing, purring at the hand on his tummy.  
  
"I know Aya is a bastard sometimes... but I guess that's what I like about him..." Ne-chan meowed, looking up at the man, blinking at the last part of the line. Youji sighed, ceasing his actions on the kitten.  
  
"Might as well admit... I guess I have a crush on red..." A deep rouge color tainted Youji's face as he said that; Ne-chan blinked, both staying silent for a long while. Youji let out his breath, carefully putting the kitten next to his pillow, which Youji had decided shall be Ne-chan's sleeping place.  
  
"Well - it's late! We should be getting to sleep! Oyasumi Ne-chan!" Youji walked over to his closet, quickly changing into his night time clothes and turned off the main lights, leaving the lamp by his bedside the only source. He climbed underneath his covers, reaching over to turn the light off and settled himself down on his pillow. Ne-chan walked around in a circle once, small claws lightly lifting up the spread there, before curling himself into a small ball, tail wrapped loosely around his body.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
A-ha!! Confession!!! *Grin* Anyways, now little Ne-chan knows Youji has a thing for Aya, so little Ne-chan is going to be a helpful kitten to Youji - and a naught one to Aya!! (and that does not make sense, does it? *Sweatdrop*)  
  
Anyways... some thanks!!  
  
~ Minmay: Arigatou gozaimasu!!! Yes, Ne-chan is a he, but thank you for the wishful thinking! ^_^ ~ Yoru: Arigatou gozaimasu!! Well... maybe I based Ne-chan a little off P-chan... but I wasn't thinking of Ranma at the time... all well. Yes, I'm the one who wrote "Teen Love" as well... which, I must admit, is in a serious need of an update soon!!! *Bangs head on the desk* Thank you for reading!! ~ Misura: Arigatou!!! Yes, Omi and Youji aren't a pairing, even though it is kind of sweet how Omi is looking out him.  
  
Arigatou minna-san!!! I'll TRY to update faster... I'll work on Darkness Falls... since we're kind of getting close to the chase...  
  
Till next time!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	5. Chapter 4: Mockery and Foolishness Kawa...

Yo-ho!!! Minna-san!!!! *Bangs head on desk* *Dizzy* AARRGGGHHH!! GOMEN NASAI!!! I've been lazy and haven't updated this story in like... a week, two weeks? Gah, but anyways! I have it here now!! ^_^  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Warnings: light shounen-ai  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya ran down the hall, slowing down slight at the steps, going down them two at a time. He reached the bottom in time to see a flash of white disappear into the living room. He let out a low growl, following after the white flash; he stood in the door way, searching the room with his eyes till he found what he had been chasing.  
  
Ne-chan crouched down on his front, tail up in air just a little behind the sofa - with the redhead's sock in his mouth. Aya let out another low growl, hands tighten around the frame. He lunged at the kitten, attempting to retrieve the stolen article, but Ne-chan had jumped out of the way, letting the redhead to fall face first on to the floor.  
  
Ne-chan looked back at him, before rushing up the stairs with the sock in his mouth. Aya pushed himself off the floor, chasing after the kitten who had already passed his limit of patience and self-control. The creature slipped into Youji's room; Aya paused at the door, pondering to himself before entering.  
  
// Dare I? //  
  
He asked himself; the redhead soon heard ripping sounds from inside, narrowing his eyes at the sound.  
  
// I do!! //  
  
Aya rushed in, spying the kitten on the older man's bed, surprisingly not pawing at his sock. Ne-chan crouched on his front again, sock still in mouth, as he waved his tail daring the redhead to try. Aya glared at the white fur-ball, lunging himself at the kitten. Ne-chan disappeared under the covers, and the redhead tried to grab, only succeeding in tangling himself in the older man's sheets.  
  
"What is going on?" Youji appeared at the door, hands on his hip. Ne-chan's head poked through the mess of sheets, jumping down from the bed and raced over to Youji, jumping into the blond's arms. Youji stared down at the creature in his arms, before looking to his bed.  
  
Finally, after struggling with the sheets, Aya's head managed to emerge. He glared at the kitten before directing his most deadliest at Youji; the older man blinked a bit, looking at the object in Ne-chan's mouth and the redhead mixed up in his bed sheets. Youji stared down at Ne-chan with an un- approving look.  
  
"Naught Ne-chan! It's not nice to steal things from people!" Youji gently pulled the sock out of Ne-chan's mouth, looking over to the very annoyed, highly angered Aya still wrapped up on his bed.  
  
"I guess Ne-chan went into your room, ne?"  
  
"Kudou, Youji!!! He didn't JUST go into my room!! He took something from it as well!!" Youji shrugged, giving the redhead a nervous smile. Aya grunted, moving to stand to his feet; however he wasn't able to untangle himself completely and fell off the bed onto the floor face first. Youji felt his face strain from smiling; Aya pushed himself to a sitting position, calming himself down before working at the tangle of sheets. He finally freed himself, then stood to his feet; he marched over to the older man, snatched the sock out of his hand and stormed off.  
  
Youji held in his urge to laugh for a few more minutes after Aya had left before he let it out. He placed Ne-chan on the floor and went to fix his bed up, still laughing all the way. Finally he halted his laughter, seating himself on his somewhat made up bed; Ne-chan immediately jumped onto his lap, curious green eyes looking up at him.  
  
"Gomen - Ne-chan! Aya just looked so cute all tangled in my sheets like that and his hair all mussed." Ne-chan replied in a happy sound tone, rubbing his face against the blond. Youji let out a content sigh, petting the kitten on the head, listening to the purr he emitted.  
  
"Now remember Ne-chan! You need to behave or I might not be able to keep you anymore!!" Ne-chan meowed worriedly, looking up at Youji with sad eyes. Youji picked him in a hug, scratching him behind the ears.  
  
"Daijoubu! I'll make sure you'll stay here! I don't want to be kicked out..." Ne-chan purred, moving his head slightly for the older man to scratch just the right places. Youji laughed, setting the kitten on to the floor, standing to his feet.  
  
"Sa - I have work today, so be good in the shop, alright?"  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"AAAHHHH!!! KAWAII!!!!!" Aya stopped his work, using both hands to massage his head; he was getting a fairly large headache from the girls screaming their heads off over Youji's kitten. Ne-chan wasn't doing any better with them; the minute they had yelled, he immediately ran to Youji, hiding himself under the blond's chair. Youji looked down at the floor, only seeing the tip of Ne-chan's tail from underneath him.  
  
"Ne, ne Youji-san? You own this kitten?" Youji blinked, nodding his head slowly; he didn't bother picking Ne-chan up since the poor thing was too afraid of the crowd. Some of the girls squealed again, others giggled.  
  
"It's sooo kawaii!!"  
  
"He... his name is Ne-chan." Youji corrected, before going back to finishing the arrangement a real customer was waiting on. The fan crowd hanged around for a while, most to all squealing mainly over the kitten hiding under Youji's chair; one girl attempted to call Ne-chan out to see better, but the little kitten just stayed there, huddled in a little ball.  
  
Aya let out a sigh of annoyance; it would obviously be much harder then usually to ignore or clear out the crowd then normal days. And to top it off, both Ken and Omi were conveniently out for the rest of the day and would not be back till after closing hours. The redhead directed his glare to the creature underneath the older man's chair, watching his every move. Aya hmpfed, turning his attention back to his work.  
  
// If Omi hadn't made that face... that cat would be out of here!! //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji pulled down the shutters, finally rid of the crowd that was hanging around; Aya swept the floor of the shop with a broom, stopping once in a while to give his head a break. He still had the headache from the screaming.  
  
"Mou, Aya, I have some aspirin if you need some." Aya glared - or tried too, but his headache prevented him from doing so.  
  
Ne-chan finally came out from under his hiding place, surveying the room. His watched as Youji kneeled down to place the lock on the shutters, while the redhead placed the broom in the corner. Wide, bright green eyes spied a relatively long piece of string underneath Aya's foot. Quietly and silently, Ne-chan ran over to the redhead, picking up the string in his mouth and somehow managed to loop it around the ankle. Holding the longer end tight in his mouth, Ne-chan began racing about Aya's legs, pulling tight on the string.  
  
Aya looked down, eyeing the kitten running around him, effectively tying his legs together.  
  
"Teeme yarou!!" Aya made a grab for the kitten, but Ne-chan moved before he could reach. Ne-chan ran out of his reach, string still in mouth; Aya moved to make another grab, not thinking about the string wrapped loosely around his legs. The restriction of his leg movement caught him by surprise, making him fall over.  
  
"Aya!!" The redhead felt arms quickly catch his fall, but Youji too fell off balance and both ended up on the floor.  
  
"Itai!" Youji rubbed the back of his head, having hit the wall due to both his and Aya's inertia. The redhead's face was buried against his chest, the pain of the fall fogging his senses. The two recovered quickly from their dazes; Youji's eyes went slightly wide as he realized how close Aya was to him. Aya pushed himself up on his arms, amethyst clashing with jade eyes.  
  
Youji felt his face heat up, hoping that it was just an internal blush and not external. Ne-chan meowed, looking up at the older blond with curious green eyes. Youji cleared his throat, helping Aya unravel the string from his legs. Aya stood to his feet without glancing at the older man and left without saying a word.  
  
As soon as the younger man left, Youji leaned his head against the wall, letting out a sigh. Ne-chan meowed, his front paws resting on the man's leg; Youji looked down at the kitten with a slight disapproving look.  
  
"Ne-chan what have I told you before? If I'm going to be able to keep you, you have to behave! Okay?" The little kitten bowed his head down, seeming ashamed for his actions. Youji smiled, picking Ne-chan up in his arms as he stood to his feet; Ne-chan looked up at him with confusing eyes.  
  
"Sa - dinner time, Ne-chan!" The little fur bundle meowed happily, his face almost looking like he could smile. Youji carried Ne-chan to the kitchen, setting him down on the floor before going over to the corner to fill the food dish. Ne-chan meowed, jumping a little on his feet making the older blond laugh at the sight; Youji set the dish down in front of Ne-chan. The kitten waited, sniffing at the food before eating it in tiny, fast bites. Youji let him be, going around to fix his own dinner and to allow himself time to think.  
  
// K'so... I hope I didn't blush! That would sure be a dead give away to Aya!! //  
  
Youji was fairly sure Aya was the type who could pick things up more clearer then anyone he's known. Though he wondered, if he did blush, that the redhead would know that it was because he been too close to Aya.  
  
// K'so!! I hope I didn't blush!! And if I did... kami-sama please let him be clueless!! //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Hee! Didn't I tell you Ne-chan was going to be a naught kitten for Aya! *large grin*  
  
Yes, Ne-chan is kind of helping Youji... whether Youji knows it or not!! More to come... hopefully I'll get somewhere! *pray*  
  
Anyways... some thanks!  
  
~ Yoru: Arigatou gozaimasu!! Little Ne-chan is causing much trouble for Aya, but in a good way, na? Anyways, just a side note, try jumping to page 14 of ff.net... you might find 'Teen Love' there. Good luck! And thank you for reviewing!!  
  
~ Minmay: Arigatou gozaimasu!!!! Aya isn't just affected... he gets confused! *grin* Anyways... yes, I make Youji blush quite a bit in these first few chapters, but I just like to see him blush! *smile* OH!!! - In an advance - Eep! Loonnggg review at Darkness Falls... and eep again for how very, very, very close our views are about Youji-chan!!! o.O  
  
~ Misura: Arigatou!! Kawaii enough for you? *grin* I'm having too much fun having Ne-chan make a cute fool out of Aya! Some more cute and a little angst - just to tie in and out of a building relationship for Aya and Youji! Arigatou!!  
  
~ Hele: Arigatou gozaimasu!! Sorry if I'm making your cats look bad... or un-special... Ne-chan is a special kitten who understands things just like a human... don't know how, but just does!! *smile* Anyways... Arigatou for reviewing!! And I'll try to update "Tying Two Together" - since I've having slight problems with the next chapt... Arigatou!!  
  
Well... others to thank, but I'm running out of time (and space!) So, a great big thanks to all!! *hugs*  
  
See you all next time!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	6. Chapter 5: Kudou, Youji Blushing?

Yoho!! Minna-san!! Sorry it took me a while to update! Had to write the chapt a bit, but here it is!!  
  
Enjoy~  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai??? Somewhere!!  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji (eventually... ¬_¬")  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya sat in his room on his bed, staring out the window into the night sky. This was his time to think, to brood, to reflect; however his thoughts tonight were none too happy to deal with. His mind wandered back to previous events of today - how Ne-chan had slipped into his room and stole his sock; made him seem utterly graceless in the presence of his older teammate. And to top it off, surprised him, tied him up and made him fall a second time in one day.  
  
// That cat!!! If Omi hadn't made that... that face!!! //  
  
He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at the bed, wincing slightly in pain due to the headache he still had. The second fall down in the shop hadn't been so bad - at least he didn't land on the tiled floor. Aya blinked, it just coming into his mind that he didn't land on the floor; Youji had caught - or at least attempted to catch him.  
  
// I suppose landing on him was better then the floor... but... //  
  
He remembered back to when he and Youji had a brief eye-contact with each other. Aya noticed the older man looked a little red in the face - though whether it was due to the fall or something else, he couldn't be sure. He was sure the blond wasn't blushing - the Kudou, Youji doesn't - or so he claims - doesn't get embarrassed over anything.  
  
Aya relaxed his face, seeing that his glaring was only making the headache worse. He looked out his window into the night sky, still thinking about today. He couldn't help but wonder about the tint of red across Youji's face - it could have been a blush, but then why would the man be blushing; there was no reason for it, nothing embarrassing or nerve-wrecking about being landed on by another co-worker.  
  
Finding these thoughts too complex and only succeeding in heightening the headache, Aya decided to go to sleep. Hopefully he could shake off the pain with peaceful dreams.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"Ne-chan? Come on out Ne-chan! It's almost time for bed!" Youji searched around the kitchen first, not finding the kitten anywhere. He headed over to the living room, calling out the kitten's name, kneeling down to look under the couch or armchairs around. He stood up to his feet, scratching the back of his head.  
  
// Now where could he have gone? //  
  
Youji checked behind the TV, since it was also another spot Ne-chan liked, because it was warm. Nothing there, except dust and a little fur. Youji was about to leave the room to search somewhere else, when he heard a noise from top of the bookshelf. He turned his head, eyes slowly glancing up at the shelves till his view rested on the very top. There was the little white, black and brown kitten, sitting on top, looking down at him with happy eyes.  
  
"There you are, Ne-chan! Come on - it's time for bed now." Youji held out his arms, waiting for Ne-chan to jump down from the shelf. The kitten just stayed there, tilting his head curiously at the blond. Youji blinked, retracting his arms just a bit; he called out again, but Ne-chan just sat there, never budging.  
  
"Mou, come on Ne-chan. I can't let you sleep up there all night!" Ne-chan laid himself down on the shelf, indicating that he wasn't going to move, unless made to. Youji let out a sigh, dropping his arms to his side; he dragged a chair from the kitchen and positioned it in front of the shelf. As tall as he was, the shelf was still taller than him just by a few inches.  
  
"Bed-time, Ne-chan!" Youji carefully reached both hands to gently grab the little kitten. Ne-chan meowed, huddling back a little, but allowed the blond to take him. Youji cradled the Ne-chan in his arms like a child, looking down at him with a smile.  
  
"Even little kittens need their sleep!" Ne-chan meowed questioning, bright green eyes staring up at him. Youji nodded, moving to step down from the chair, but a slam from the door startled him and he yelped, losing his footing.  
  
Aya walked through the door, setting his katana aside and shrugging his trench coat off. He had gone on a solo mission, which would have been a success if the target had shown up.  
  
"Gomen, bad night and - God!!" Aya spotted Youji falling off the chair in time, quickly rushing over to catch the blond in his arms. Youji had released Ne-chan, but the kitten landed fine on his feet, eyeing the situation at hand. Youji let out a breath of relief, steadying himself back on to his feet.  
  
"Baka!" Youji winced slightly at the word. Aya stepped back to pull away from the older man; he felt something against the back of his ankle, making him lose his step so not to hurt or damage what was there. Consequently, he fell off balance, falling down the floor; in attempt to stay up, Aya grabbed the nearest thing he could to keep balance. He grasped Youji by the arms, the blond not expecting the action, fell to the floor with him, landing on top of the redhead.  
  
Aya let out a hiss of pain as his head hit the carpeted floor; Youji whimpered, his senses too dazed to take in his surroundings. Ne-chan meowed, his voice getting through to neither of them. Finally, Youji recovered jade green eyes going wide when he realized exactly how he was on Aya.  
  
Youji pushed himself up on his arms, staring down into equally shocked eyes. Aya had recovered a little slower then Youji, but he still recognized the surroundings. Youji felt his face heat up, hoping it was not showing on the surface of his skin; he was in a similar position like the one before from the mission. Only this time he had landed between both of the redhead's legs.  
  
Ne-chan's meow broke through to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. Youji quickly stood his feet, swiftly swooping up Ne-chan in his arms and raced upstairs, not saying one word.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya stayed on his back, staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes before he pushed himself to a sitting position - blinking at the space in front of him.  
  
// What - the hell just happened!? //  
  
He didn't intentionally mean to slam the door, but he knew he'd scared someone cause of the yelp he heard. He hadn't expect to see Youji falling off a chair because of that; so he did the first thing that came to mind - catch the older man's fall. However after, Ne-chan had tripped him and he had grabbed on to Youji to try and keep himself balanced - failing miserably of course.  
  
He just brought the blond down with him, this time he was a cushion for Youji's fall. Aya blinked, it just coming to mind that Youji's face was a little red again - just as before in the shop a few days ago.  
  
// A blush again? Or because of something else? //  
  
Aya slapped himself mentally for thinking it was a blush; for all time he had known the blond, he's never seen Youji blush or any reason for the man to be embarrassed enough to do so. Though, he couldn't help but wonder about that; Youji had changed somewhat considerable since he had found Ne- chan.  
  
For one, he was rarely ever flirting or pleasing the fan girls that came by in the shop; he was actually working in the shop as well. What surprised Aya the most, though was how Youji was being extremely nice to him lately, more so then to Ken or Omi. Aya closed his eyes in deep thought, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
// That girl... Janni was it? Her death couldn't possible have anything to do with this change... could it? //  
  
He let out a hum of frustration, standing up to his feet to clean himself up and go off to bed. He had a long day to go through tomorrow - and since Youji was in his shift, it meant Ne-chan would be there as well. Aya grumbled at the day ahead as he climbed up the stairs; he had a strong feeling he better take an aspirin before heading out in the morning.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Ne-chan jumped down from Youji's arms, as he closed his door behind him, leaning against the wooden surface. He stared blankly at the floor, his face still feeling a little warm. Taking in a deep breath, walked over to the mirror mounted on the wall close to his closet. Jade green eyes went slightly wide at the sight.  
  
// K'SO!! I'm blushing!! Aya is sure to know by now!!! //  
  
Youji stared at his reflection with great predicament, hands over his mouth. Ne-chan mewed, grabbing the blond's attention; Youji looked down to the little kitten, same color green eyes staring back at him curiously. Youji let out a sigh, a small smile gracing his face as he headed over to his bed. Ne-chan jumped up on to the mat, gracefully striding over to his place besides the man's pillow.  
  
"Now you decided to go to bed? Ne-chan!" Youji looked at the kitten sternly, hands on his hips. Ne-chan just meowed, curling into a little ball with his tail wrapped loosely around him. Youji let out a small laugh, petting the kitten once on the head, before climbing under the covers.  
  
"Oyasumi, Ne-chan!"  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Yoshi!!! End of chapt! Anyways, sorry if this one is a little short, but I got something up for you guys at least. *grin*  
  
Ne-chan is being such a little trouble maker for Aya (well, just this once for Youji, but that's beside the point!).  
  
Some thanks, before I go!  
  
~ Misura: Arigatou gozaimasu!!! Uh, yeah Youji kind of blushed as you can tell. Cuteness is just kind of beginning... may be a little sad later, but that's much later - much, much later...  
  
~ Yoru: Arigatou gozaimasu!! I'm glad you're enjoying this fic (and the others as well). Ne-chan is helping Youji get close to Aya, whether they both know it or not - that's what makes it all fun! ^_^ Arigatou for reading!  
  
~ Minmay: Arigatou gozaimasu!! Yes, agreed, Youji is a special in his own way, so I like to experiment and make it show. I can't remember either if Youji blushed in the anime... manga... maybe. Do you have any kind of online contact facility? Arigatou for reading!!  
  
~ Hele: Arigatou!!! Gomen nasai, if it's taking a while for Aya to realize what Youji feels for him and that there's no signs of heavier shounen-ai... yet... And me being unpredictable and improvise-tics skillful... who knows where or when the two will be together. (or kiss for that matter)  
  
Thank you all for reviewing and see you all next time!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	7. Chapter 6: A Rose, A Photo and Hands

Yoho! Minna-san!! YEAH!! Look, I finally updated something!!! ^_^ Sorry it took me so long to get this updated, but I have it!! And it's getting a little sad and a little happy at the same time! (confusing, ne? @.@ ) but. I shouldn't spoil it!  
  
Enjoy!!  
  
Warnings: light Shounen-ai  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji sat nervously behind the counter, working on a small arrangement of roses, occasionally pricking himself on the thorns, shaking his hand in the air to try to help subtle the pain.  
  
The shop was empty since it was a weekday, which meant there was no crowd hanging around the shop and little to none customers till probably after lunch. Ken had practices today for the first half of the day, and Omi would be at school till afternoon.  
  
Youji looked down at Ne-chan, lying stretched out lazily on the counter top, eyes closed and enjoying the little bit of sunlight shining down on his fur. Youji smiled, before directing his gaze over to where Aya was sitting; the redhead sat at the worktable, tackling through the more difficult arrangements.  
  
Aya's back was towards him, so the blond felt relatively safe watching the younger man. He watched Aya set one arrangement next to another, checking the list before continuing on with the next one. Youji let out a silent sigh, turning his gaze towards the outside of the shop. He couldn't tell the redhead how he felt, even if Aya wasn't Aya, he still couldn't tell him. Many people don't know this, but Youji had generally been a shy as a kid, and never really reached out to other people.  
  
// So I observe, ne? Just watching, but never touching - never talking... never feeling... //  
  
Youji snapped out of his thoughts, feeling something sliding out of his hand; he looked down at the roses in his hands, eyeing Ne-chan pulling one out.  
  
"Iie, Ne-chan! I need all the roses!! You can't take that one." The little kitten only looked up him, green eyes questioning the light scold; he pulled the rose out of the blond's hand, dashing across the counter and jumped down on to the floor. Youji stood to his feet, chasing after Ne-chan in a playful manner.  
  
"Oi, oi Ne-chan! I don't really have time for games now - we'll play later, okay?" Youji knelt down to the floor, holding out his hand to signal the kitten back; Ne-chan stared at the hand before dropping the rose on the floor and jumped into the man's waiting arms. Youji smiled at the happy meow Ne-chan gave, rubbing his face against the blond's chest. Youji headed back over to his workstation, pausing when Aya made a small noise; swallowing his breath, Youji turned to look at the redhead.  
  
Aya glanced at him briefly, before bending down from his chair to pick up the rose Ne-chan dropped. Standing up to his feet, he walked over to Youji, standing fairly close in front of the older man. Youji felt his face heat up a little, once again hoping it was internal and not external; he unintentionally tightened his hold on Ne-chan, the little kitten mewed from the tightness. Aya held up the rose in his fingers, placing it at the top of Youji's apron, letting it hang between the strap and the older man's shirt.  
  
"You forgot that!" Youji blinked, feeling his face warm up even more; Aya headed back to the work table, setting back to task the arrangement he was doing. Youji loosed his hold on Ne-chan, allowing the poor kitten to breathe better. Youji seated himself back behind the counter, placing Ne- chan on the surface, before working on the roses. The rest of the time till Ken came back was spent in silence.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya sat in his room, sitting cross-legged on his bed, arms across his chest. He stared out the window in to the night sky, thinking about today's events; with the other three gone on a mission he could think without any interruptions. It had surprised almost everyone when he declined tonight's mission, but he had too much on his mind to accomplish it.  
  
He let out a low hum, trying to make sense of what had happened today. Aya had purposely done the whole rose thing to Youji to see the initial reaction; it shocked him a little to see that the blond had blushed and hadn't said a single word after that. Aya let out a frustrated sigh; he couldn't understand the embarrassment of such a simple action compared to all the falls from before.  
  
// Why does he have to be so complex?? //  
  
Aya closed his eyes, tilting his head down a little; emotions were not always his best subject. He could read some hidden emotions, but he admits that he can be clueless about the simple ones. The ones such as the certain face someone gives if they like someone. He usually had trouble reading those kind of feelings.  
  
Aya opened his eyes, hearing something rustling around his room; he turned his head little, gazing out the corner of his eye. He saw a quick flash of white disappear beyond the edge of the bed; he knew exactly what it was immediately.  
  
// That cat!! //  
  
Letting out a low growl, Aya turned a little on his bed, waiting for whatever it was the little kitten planned to do. After a few minutes had passed, Ne-chan jumped up from the floor; Aya caught him, holding the kitten by the extra skin layer on the back. He held the kitten to his face level, glaring at the living fur; Ne-chan meowed questioningly at him, green eyes staring at him.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" Aya scolded himself, thinking the cat could really understand what he said. Placing the kitten down on the floor, he turned back to the window, going back to his thoughts.  
  
He heard a muffled meow, feeling Ne-chan jumped back onto his bed; he looked at the kitten with a more threatening glare. Ne-chan jumped a little to stand on his hind-legs, showing the redhead the picture in his mouth; Aya blinked, taking the photo from the kitten's mouth.  
  
It was a picture of Youji with a little bit of the outside of the shop in the background. It had been taken without his notice, seeing as he wasn't facing the camera and his face looked more natural rather then flirtatious. Aya stared at the picture, before looking at Ne-chan with a narrow gaze; the kitten mewed, his tail moving back and forth behind him.  
  
"What the hell is this for?" Aya asked, temporarily forgetting his scold from the previous question he asked before. Ne-chan took the picture from the redhead, jumping at him and clung to his shirt; Aya tensed, trying to pull him away without ripping his shirt. Successfully releasing himself from the claws, he held Ne-chan to his face level, glaring at the kitten.  
  
"What was THAT for???" Ne-chan moved the photo close to the redhead's face, close enough that Aya's nose and mouth were touching the surface. Aya blinked for several minutes at the action, before his subconscious realization pulled through to his consciousness. He pulled back from the photo, understanding the underline meaning Ne-chan was telling him; he let the kitten drop to the floor, the little creature landing on his feet, photo still in mouth.  
  
"Teeme!!!" Aya held the back of his hand over his mouth, a faint blush appearing across his nose. Ne-chan quickly dashed out of the redhead's room, disappearing into the hall. Aya removed his hand, standing to his feet to close his door tight, before sitting back down on his bed to brood in deep thought.  
  
// That-that... cat!! Hell like I'll ever kiss Youji!! //  
  
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Aya fell back against his bed, hearing something crinkle underneath. He sat back up, looking down to find it was the picture Ne-chan had brought in; Aya silently cursed the kitten, picking up the photo to set it aside. He paused, taking a better glance at the photo; definitely an uninformative picture. Youji wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either - he had more of a confused expression on his face, with his eyes slightly wider then normal, gazing at something. Aya blinked, before snapping out of his trance observation, quickly setting the image aside to return to someone later.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Omi and Ken walked through the door first, Youji following behind them looking down-crested. Omi took off his cap, before turning to the older man with a worried look.  
  
"Ano... Youji-kun, daijoubu ka?" The older blond nodded, remaining silent. Youji heading for the stairs, softly murmuring about a shower to clean up; Omi let out a desperate sigh, hand over his mouth. Ken gently patted the boy on the shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile.  
  
"Daijoubu, Omi. I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough... you'll see."  
  
"I hope so, Ken-kun. I hope so."  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Youji slowly walked up the stairs, his mind replaying over and over again the scenes from tonight's mission. When he reached the top of the stairs, Ne-chan was there waiting for him, meowing happily when the blond come in sight. Youji passed by the kitten, not noticing the creature through his thoughts; Ne-chan meowed questioningly, staring after the blond with curious eyes.  
  
Ne-chan followed after Youji, stopping at the closed door of the bathroom. He tried scratching at the door with his claws, hoping that his owner would hear and open it to greet him - but nothing happened. Ne-chan began to meow, increasing his volume when he heard water running on the other side.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Youji quickly stripped off his clothing, staring at his reflection in the mirror; he eyed faint marks on his neck, feeling a heavy burden fall on him. He stepped into the shower, trying to force down the memories, the voices in his head; but he could not silence them. He could see clearly the hatred burning in that young teen's eyes, when he had caught him; he could hear the anger in his voice as his hands reached for his neck, tears falling from his eyes.  
  
** "Doushite!!! Doushite no!!!" Youji tried to pry the teen's hands from his neck, restraining from un-necessary actions. The hands tighten, cutting off his air almost completely.  
  
"What has o-toosan ever done?! WHY??" Youji cut him off, somehow managing to wrap his wire around the teen's neck; he released his hold on the blond's neck, gripping at the wire tightening around his neck. **  
  
Youji stood with guilt, the water running cold against his skin. He could still feel phantom hands at his neck, threatening to choke him, to cease his existence; he felt faint, the world fading in and out before finally disappearing from his sight.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya stepped out of his room, pocketing the picture Ne-chan had left behind in his pocket for later return. He paused a moment, before turning back to shut his door properly - he didn't want to risk Ne-chan sneaking in again and causing trouble. Heading back on task, Aya walked for the downstairs, checking to make sure the others had a successful mission without him.  
  
He had barely gotten passed one door when Ne-chan jumped at him, meowing loudly as he clung to the redhead's shirt once again. Aya tensed, glaring down at the kitten as he pulled him away from his shirt.  
  
"OI!! What the hell is with you?!" Ne-chan's green eyes were wide and frightful, meowing constantly as his tail moved up and down frantically. Aya only stared at the strange behavior, setting the kitten back down on the floor; Ne-chan immediately ran to the bathroom door, mewing and scratching at the wooden surface. Aya came up to the door, figuring it was Youji since Ne-chan was meowing at it; he knocked lightly, calling out the blond's name - no reply.  
  
"Youji? Oi!! Youji!!!" He could faintly hear water running, but he wasn't receiving an answer from the man; he had a bad feeling from the lack of response, turning the handle of the door to find it locked.  
  
"Youji!!" Aya knocked harder, before practically banging the door, trying to force it open. Omi and Ken came running up the steps, hearing the noises from upstairs.  
  
"What's going on?" Aya turned to face his two teammates.  
  
"Something is wrong! Get the key!" Omi nodded his head, running off to search for the extra key to the bathroom. Ken only stood there, eyeing Ne- chan at the door, pawing at it with his claws; Ken picked the kitten up in his arms, gently petting him on the head. Ne-chan mewed a little, frightfully burying his face into the brunet's arm.  
  
Omi soon came back up with the key, handing it over to Aya, who quickly shoved it in the hole and turned it. Hearing the lock click, he opened the door, rushing in to see if Youji was okay. Omi came up behind him, eyes going slightly wide as he covered a hand over his mouth.  
  
"Youji-kun!!" The older man was on the floor of the shower, face leaning against the tile wall with the water pouring down on him. Aya made his way over to the blond, shutting off the shower head before moving to lift Youji out of area - his skin was as cold as ice.  
  
"Baka yarou!!" Aya muttered, taking the towel from Omi to wrap around the older blond, before lifting him up to carry Youji off to his room. Ken stepped aside, still holding Ne-chan in his arms; Ne-chan looked up, seeing Youji being carried off down the hall.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Well... that's all for now!! Don't worry... I didn't kill Youji... yet! (*Grin* Just kidding)  
  
Anyways... slowly, slowly, slowly, sllooooowwwwllyyy beginning to get something between Aya and Youji! *smile* More to come soon... I hope. Well... thank you all for reading!! (Sorry, but I've been sleep deprived this past days and been pretty stressed lately, so no individual thanks this time. *bows head* gomen nasai!! )  
  
See you all next time!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	8. Chapter 7: Dream vs Reality?

Yoho!! Minna-san!! ^_^ Written... quiet a bit here - and a little bit fast here, but this is because of weirdness... but.. I'll let you found out, rather then spoil.  
  
Enjoy!!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Omi let the folded cloth soak in the hot water, before lifting it out of the basin; he twisted it a little, squeezing some of the water out before placing it on Youji's forehead. The older man was well covered, dressed in the heaviest pair of clothing they could find; his face was slightly flush from the cold, breathing a little deeper then normal.  
  
Omi let out a sigh, standing up to his feet; he turned to Aya sitting in a chair nearby the bed.  
  
"Oyasumi nasai, Aya-kun." The redhead only hummed his response, staring down at the sleeping blond on the bed. Omi disappeared through the door, closing it behind him; Aya had been made to stay up and watch Youji for as long as he could. Omi had school tomorrow and it was already late; Ken had practices tomorrow and needed the sleep as well.  
  
He looked to the side table, eyeing the Ne-chan crouched down by the basin, gazing at Youji with worried bright green eyes. Aya watched the kitten jumped from the table to the bed, making his way besides the blond's face; Ne-chan mewed softly, licking Youji on the cheek before settling himself into a little ball and dozed off to sleep. Aya stared enviously at the creature, feeling the hazard of sleep beginning to take its toll on him.  
  
// K'so!! Youji what were you thinking?? Sitting in a cold shower like that!! //  
  
Aya felt his eyes falling shut, but he forced himself to stay awake; he couldn't be sure of Youji's stability at the moment, and did not want to risk another accident. However, his body refused to listen, eyes falling shut as he drifted off to a peaceful slumber.  
  
~~*~~  
  
Aya set his book down, the light breeze through the window blowing across his face; standing up to his feet he went searching around the house. The house looked different, not the apartment type they were all living in - it looked more like a villa.  
  
He ignored the scenery for now, peering into different rooms, searching for something - more of someone. The sounds of classical music reached his ears and he followed the source to the living room area, eyeing the open doors leading out to the balcony. He walked out to the balcony, finding the object of his search.  
  
Youji sat outside in one of the chairs, head leaning back against the top, eyes closed in relaxation. He looked to be sleeping, the slight summer breeze blowing gently against his face. The redhead felt a smile appear on his face, making his way over to the napping blond, carefully wrapping his arms around him. Youji stirred slightly from his sleep, blinking his eyes open to glance at the redhead.  
  
The older man spoke, reaching his hands up to grasp Aya's arms tenderly. Aya was about to open his mouth to reply, when a loud meow distracted them both, gazing at the cat making its way gracefully over to Youji, jumping on to the man's lap. The cat directed a nasty look at the redhead, making a noise between a meow and a hiss; Aya glared back at the grown up Ne-chan, possessively holding on to Youji.  
  
He scolded the cat, receiving an angered hiss from the cat; Ne-chan's voice had changed from when he was a little kitten. His meows used to be much higher in pitch and a little more cracked, but as he grew, the pitch became a little deeper, the mews beginning to sound more mature and more solid.  
  
Youji laughed, speaking to break the tension between the two. He gently dismissed Ne-chan off his lap, allowing Aya to have his full time with him. The redhead smiled, bringing a hand up to Youji's face to make the blond face him; Aya leaned in, capturing the older man's mouth with his.  
  
~~*~~  
  
Aya woke up with a start, breathing slightly heavy; at the same time he heard something crashing to the floor. He looked over to the bed to see that Youji had knocked the basin over and was wide awake; he seemed to be reaching for something on the side table. Aya stood to his feet, gently pushing the blond back down on the bed; instinctively, Youji struggled, reaching out for the cup sitting on the table.  
  
"Youji lie down and I'll get the glass for you!!!" The older blond glared at him, knocking Aya's hands away from him.  
  
"I'm not a child!! I can take care of myself!!!" Really too tired to care, Aya shoved Youji back down on the bed, a startling yelp coming from both the blond and a now awake Ne-chan. The redhead picked the cup up off the table, carefully handing it Youji; the blond turned his head away, refusing to take the glass from Aya's hand.  
  
"Now what?!" Youji remain silent, never once glancing at Aya. The redhead let out a frustrated sigh, putting the cup back down before reaching to pull the older man up to a sitting position. Youji began to whine, trying to get Aya to release him, but it only irritated the redhead more.  
  
Finally Youji stopped, his eyes beginning to tear; Aya stopped as well, seeing the tears escaping down the man's face. He released his hold on Youji, drawing his hand back and let the silence hang between them. Youji covered his hands over his face as his cries became audible; Ne-chan crawled onto his lap, rubbing his face against Youji, trying to get the man to look at him. Youji removed his hands, staring down at the little kitten staring up at him with sad eyes. Youji wiped away his tears, picking up the kitten to hold in his arms.  
  
"... Gomen - Aya..." Aya blinked; Youji looked towards the glass out of the corner on his eyes, not daring to reach for it, but he felt hot and needed something to cool him down on the inside. Aya followed where the older man's gaze went, picking up the cup again and handed it to Youji; the blond stared it for a moment before taking it from the redhead, slipping at the cold water it contained. Aya let out a sigh as he watched Youji finish the up off.  
  
"Why do you have to make things complicated..." Youji blinked, staring at the redhead. Aya closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the chair; hands folded across his lap.  
  
"I don't know what's been going on with you lately, but you're beginning to jeopardize the team." Aya continued, eyes still closed; Youji could only stare at the sudden talkative mode the redhead seem to have slipped into. He brought his knees to his chest, resting his head on his arms as he listened to Aya speak. The redhead didn't seem to be paying attention to what he was saying and just speaking whatever came to mind. Youji smiled softly when Aya unknowingly told him how it had frightened him when Youji didn't answer the door a few hours ago. Soon Aya's words faded into mumbles, his head falling to the side slightly - he had subconsciously talked himself to sleep.  
  
Youji gazed at the redhead with misty eyes, laughing lightly in his head at the strange behavior of his teammate. He looked down to his left to see Ne- chan already fast asleep, curled up by his pillow in a little ball. He looked back to the sleeping redhead, carefully and quietly moving his legs under him so he was sitting on his heels. Youji stared at Aya's face, studying the now relaxed features; Aya's usually glare or emotionless tone had disappeared, his mouth falling slightly open and a few red strands resting on his face. A sleeping Aya looked much different from an awake Aya; awake, the redhead was a walking ice block and could almost pass off as being not human - but, asleep, he looked at peace and maybe even warm.  
  
// Is he really warm? Or is he just as cold in his sleep as in the world? //  
  
Youji wondered, still staring at Aya. Youji carefully crawled closer to the edge of the bed, nearer to where the chair was placed; he looked up into the redhead's face, his question spinning around in his head.  
  
// ... I wonder... //  
  
He leaned in closer to Aya, feeling his heart suddenly failing him in keeping quiet; he pulled back immediately when Aya stirred, turning his face away from the redhead. He heard nothing more. Youji slowly turned back to face him, seeing that he was still asleep. The blond let out a sigh, his heart decreasing its speed.  
  
// Though still... what is it like? To... //  
  
Youji blushed at where his thoughts were going; he stared at the sleeping redhead, again slowly leaning in close to Aya's face. He held his breath, the pounding of his heart reaching his ears; he lightly pressed his mouth against Aya's, not holding it any longer then a second before pulling back. The redhead never stirred once. Youji placed a hand over his mouth, scolding himself at his thoughts and actions; he couldn't be sure of Aya's reaction if he found out about this - feeling, this crush.  
  
Youji smacked himself on the inside, ashamed of what he was trying to do. He looked over to Aya again, seeing that the redhead was still asleep and hadn't stirred since that brief contact. Youji arranged himself on all fours on his bed, carefully whispering the redhead's name. Nothing.  
  
"Oi - Aya?" The younger man simply didn't move or respond. Youji felt his heart beating faster as the thoughts of another kiss - one that lasted much longer and more deeper then first - crossed his mind. Before he could rid the thought, his body moved, his face coming up close to Aya's; he carefully placed his mouth over Aya's, hoping not to wake the redhead up.  
  
Much to his surprise, he felt Aya's own arms reached up to hold him, deepening the kiss further then Youji would ever expect. Startled jade green eyes widened, his blush becoming deeper when Aya pulled him on to his lap, one hand tangling in long, wavy blond hair.  
  
// M-masaka!! He can't... he doesn't... he wouldn't... //  
  
~~*~~  
  
Despite it being summer, the mountain nights were very cool when the sun had set below the horizon. The sky above was dark, the colors below it becoming lighter the closer to the setting sun it was. A night wind blew through the trees, whistling a faint song; but all these, Aya ignored, concentrated more on the object of his affection seated on his lap.  
  
He and Youji were outside on the porch, watching the sun set together, but Aya had better things in mind for his love. He pulled apart from their kiss, holding the blond's flushed face in his hands; he said something making Youji's blush deepen in color. The redhead received a poke in the side from that comment.  
  
Aya only smiled, wrapping his arms around Youji to bring him closer to him as he recaptured the older man's lips with his own. He could feel Youji melting in his embrace, feeling his moans in his mouth.  
  
He felt strong hands against his chest, pushing gently against him, silently asking him to stop. Aya refused, holding on tighter to Youji, figuring the blond would surrender eventually. He began to worry though, when Youji started to lightly hit him, this time definitely sounding like he wasn't enjoying himself. Aya pulled back, staring into jade eyes with a slight confusion; he spoke to the blond, asking what was wrong, but the voice, the expression Youji replied with seemed... off.  
  
"Oi!! Aya, stop it!!"  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Wake up!!" Amethyst purple eyes snapped open, staring up at Youji, who had tear-filled eyes. Aya carefully shoved the blond away from him, getting up to his feet and left through the door, letting it slam behind him. Youji stared at his closed door for several minutes before wiping away his tears and laid back down on his bed, slowly closing his eyes.  
  
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~  
  
Um... yeah. See what I mean by fast. Don't worry... this is the only little glitch for the whole fic (I think). But yeah... Youji's a little upset, Aya is really... embarrassed? Anger? frustrated? You decided. Well... I'll see you all next time!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	9. Chapter 8: Courage to Act and To Feel

YOHO!!!! Minna-sama!!! ^^; First of... gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gomen nasai, gomen nasai!!!!! Sorry it took so long for me to update, but school is still giving me problems, so I haven't been in the mood to writing much.  
  
But anyways, here it is!! Chapt 8 of Koneko!! And, you all get a special surprise on Aya's part. (^_~ Sore wa himitsu desu!!)  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya slammed the door to his room, leaning up against it; he couldn't stop himself from blushing for his actions back in Youji's room. He couldn't help but hate himself for what he had did - for what he had almost done; how he let his dreams slip into Youji's reality and almost...  
  
Aya shook his head clear, trying to rid himself of the memory, but it refused to take leave. He remembered clearly the look on the older man's face, the tears threatening to escape his eyes when he had woken up. Aya felt a sharp pain; he had not only pushed past Youji's barrier, but had also walked away without explanation.  
  
// What - what the hell is going on?! // Aya slide down to the floor, staring out at the space in front of him. He was so confused, he couldn't control or understand his emotions when he was around Youji - and that frightened him.  
  
// What is wrong with me? //  
  
"You're in love, in case you haven't noticed by now." The redhead opened his eyes, spying a girl not more then 3 inches high, floating cross-legged in front him. She had long black hair, a small fang visible on the side of her mouth. Aya blinked, rubbing his template.  
  
"I must be tired... I starting to imagine things."  
  
"Oi, oi!! For your information!! I'm NOT your imagination!!! I'm your inner- self, you know!!" Aya looked at the girl with confusion, lifting a finger to poke at her. She slapped at his finger, startling him a little that he felt something; she looked at him with a slight glare, arms across her chest.  
  
"Don't touch!! I'm the real thing! And if you think I'm going to let you walk from the only happiness in your life... you've got another thing coming!!!" She looked at him with glare, pointing an accusing finger at him. Aya blinked, placing a hand to his face as he closed his eyes.  
  
"This has to be a dream..."  
  
"No dream!! And if you don't start showing how you feel to Youji - you're going to lose him very soon!!" Aya looked at her with a slight frightful expression; he couldn't understand how he had come to care so much for a man who annoyed him the most, was the complete and total opposite in very way from him, but yet - these were shallow. Since Janni's death, he had begun to see what Youji really was, to see what the blond was like behind his own mask, a mask he had gotten so used to wearing, it made it seem natural.  
  
No, the redhead began to see more to Youji than anyone ever would. He saw a caring, gentle soul, a committed soul; he could see the innocent, vulnerable child that lived inside the soft jade green eyes, he - he couldn't understand what he saw.  
  
"Hey, try to talk to him at least... it's getting kind of obvious he likes you." Aya looked at her, seeing a more gentle smile on her face; the redhead blinked, before standing up to his feet to walk over to bed. She followed him up, making it seem as if she was standing on an invisible surface in the air.  
  
"You're a romantic at heart... just look at your dreams!!"  
  
"I'll - I'll try..."  
  
"Go for it!!" She gave him a wink and a thumb's up, smiling proudly to herself at her accomplishment; she turned around to walk away, when Aya poked one finger at her, making her turn to glare at him.  
  
"Now what?!"  
  
"If you're my inner-self... why are you female?" She jumped back a little at the question, before kicking the redhead across the cheek. Aya rubbed the side of his face, staring at the girl with narrow eyes.  
  
"Teeme!!! You don't go around asking things like that!!!!" With that, she disappeared, leaving Aya alone in the dark with his cheek stinging slightly from her kick. Shaking his head, he headed over to his bed, climbing under his covers to drift off to sleep.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya sat at the kitchen table, gently holding an ice pack against his cheek; he still didn't believe what he saw last night was real, but the slightly swollen cheek held a whole other story. He heard a small mew coming from the doorway, turning his head slightly to eye Ne-chan walking through, heading over to his bowl; he meowed louder, seeing that is was empty.  
  
"Hai, hai! Coming!!" Aya heard Youji's voice, turning his face away from the door so he wouldn't have to see the older man walking in. He saw Youji pass by him out of the corner of his eyes, the blond going about to fix Ne- chan breakfast before dealing with his own.  
  
Ne-chan danced around Youji's feet, finally sitting by the bowl, patiently waiting for the man to pour the soft food into it. Youji laughed at the kitten's happy mew before he started eating the food rather sloppily for a cat.  
  
Aya watched Youji work around the kitchen to gather his own breakfast together, pulling miscellaneous things down from the cupboards. The redhead simply observed, turning his face away when the older man had to reach up at high places, and his shirt rode upwards, exposing a little bit of skin. Aya still couldn't help, but feel embarrassed at what he had almost done to Youji; he wondered if Youji hated for that.  
  
Distracted in his thoughts, he didn't noticed the plate set down in front of him and Youji seating himself across from where he was sitting.  
  
"Oi! Ohaiyo Aya!!" The redhead blinked, snapping out of his thoughts; he looked up at the blond smiling at him, slowly nibbling away at his breakfast. Aya looked down at the plate in front of him, staring at the food.  
  
"You need to eat, you know. The first meal of the day is important - keeps you going!" Aya only stared at the plate, listening to already known fact/advise the blond was giving him. In most cases, he would have just set the comment aside - plus the plate, but now he couldn't - and just because Youji had said it.  
  
Aya picked up the utensils Youji had set aside the plate, slowly cutting up the food on his plate to sizable bites. He placed the bits into his mouth, letting the taste savor on his tongue before chewing it down - it surprised him that it was pretty good. Aya looked up to see Youji smiling at him, nodding his head for an answer.  
  
"This... it's fine."  
  
"It was one of my kaasan's recipes - I've never really tried it before by myself." The redhead only nodded, continuing on with the food on his plate; Youji finished before him, placing his soiled dishes in the sink. He sat back down across from Aya, watching the younger man eat; Aya took his time, allowing the taste to linger in his mouth.  
  
A meow distracted both of them, Ne-chan making his way over towards them; he jumped on to Youji's lap, purring as he rubbed his face against the blond. Youji petted him behind the ears, knowing it was Ne-chan's favorite spot, receiving an even louder purr from the kitten.  
  
"Why don't you help open the shop... I - I might be a while." Youji blinked at the redhead, slowly nodding his head before standing to his feet, setting Ne-chan down on the floor. Once the blond had left the room, Aya let out his breath, slumping back against his chair.  
  
// Why can't I refuse him now? //  
  
"Do I have to tell you again?! Geeze, you are a slow learner!!!" Amethyst eyes widened at the recognition of the voice; he looked down at the table, eyeing his 'inner self' glaring up at him, hands on her hips.  
  
"Am I going crazy?" Aya rubbed his closed eyes, yelping when he felt a kick in his arm. He looked at the girl, spying the annoyed look on her face.  
  
"Will you cut it out!!! I'm fricking real - get that in your head!!!" She yelled at him, hands in fists by her side; the redhead blinked, definitely believing now that she wasn't a dream or an illusion.  
  
"There... now that I have your attention! Now, go talk to him!! You said you'd try and so far you've just been siting there like nothing!!!" Aya let out a sigh, setting his fork down on his plate. She just simply stood there in front of him, arms crossed over her chest and tapping her foot on the table.  
  
"Well!!" Aya stood to his feet, setting his dish aside for later attendance and heading out to the shop. He could feel her sitting on his shoulder, poking him in the face and reminding him what he's suppose to do. Just before he entered the shop, she gave him one last warning before disappearing from his shoulder; Aya took in a deep breath, trying to regain his usual attitude for the shop hours, then entered.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji stretched, hearing his back crack in response. It was now a half-hour past closing time, and he and Aya were the only ones left in the shop - asides from a little Ne-chan. Ken had gone to practices and Omi was spending the night at a friend's house for study. Youji had thought to talk to the redhead about what had happened last night, but the day had proved to more busy then he thought.  
  
// I want to tell you... Ran, if you don't mind. But I don't know how you feel... //  
  
The blond let out a sigh, untying his apron to hang it up; Ne-chan raced out from under his hiding spot, jumping at one of the straps dangling, tugging the apron down from Youji's hands. Youji stared down at Ne-chan with a disapproving look, hands on his hips; the kitten bent down on his front, tail up in the air in a playful manner. Youji smiled, chasing after Ne-chan to retrieve his stolen apron back.  
  
"I'll get you!!" When Youji reached out, Ne-chan managed to pull the large cloth away from the grasping hand, crawling under the apron and ran around partially blind around the area. Aya watched the two run around the shop, letting out a sigh as he continued to clean the counter off.  
  
He felt slightly frustrated with himself, feeling the cram of emotions just wanting to be let loose and shared with someone --the someone being Youji. Aya sighed, allowing his mask to slip, just a little below his usual glare. He looked up at Youji, seeing that Ne-chan was running towards a wet area on the floor from spilled water - and Youji following right after. Aya moved, knowing that no matter who walked over the wet floor of the koneko, would always, always slip.  
  
As predicated, Youji slipped, sliding back almost parallel to the floor in the air. He felt strong arms catch him under the arms, holding his upper body while he let his feet fall back to the floor. Youji let out a sigh, carefully standing on his own two feet.  
  
"Arigatou, Aya." The redhead only hummed his response, waiting till Youji was fully balanced before releasing his hold. Ne-chan meowed, tossing the black apron off himself and jumped over to Youji and Aya, leaping up at Youji and crawled over his shoulder, lunging himself at the redhead behind.  
  
Aya fret, eyes going slightly wide as Ne-chan pounced him, jumping off his head and landed on the floor. Aya began to fall back, having lost his balance trying to avoid the kitten's attack; he grabbed on to Youji's arm, in attempt to keep himself up. However, Youji was just as surprised as he was and fell off balance with the redhead, landing on top of him. Both let out a hiss of pain, before staring at each other in the eyes; green clashing with amethyst eyes.  
  
Youji swallowed, feeling his face heat up at the closeness to the redhead; Aya in turn, remained completely still, his usually harsh glare now melted into a shocked expression. Ne-chan remained quiet, watching, waiting for someone to act or say something.  
  
"A...Aya?"  
  
"Gomen... for last night." Aya managed to get out, with some embarrassment; Youji only blinked, never once breaking contact with the redhead. After a few minutes, he adjusted his position, coming close to Aya's face; the redhead swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, unable to speak.  
  
"Don't... it's okay, I was just - just afraid..." Youji leaned in close, pausing just a few inches away from Aya's face; he placed his hands on the floor aside of the younger man, not sure whether he should hold him or not. His blushed deepened, as Youji carefully and lightly pressed his mouth against Aya's.  
  
Aya held completely still, unsure of what to do as Youji kissed him lightly. He couldn't be sure of what reaction the blond was looking for - rejection? No, even Aya now couldn't do it. Response? But he didn't know how.  
  
// What should I do? //  
  
"Whatever your feelings say..." Aya looked up, seeing the tiny 'devil' girl, as he named her, hovering just a little above Youji and him. She was staring down at him with a gentle smile, nodding her head in encouragement before disappearing.  
  
Aya slowly closed his eyes, reaching his arms up around Youji, deepening the kiss the older man had started; Youji opened his eyes, surprised by the redhead's response. Youji closed his eyes again, letting himself relax in Aya's arms and just let his worries slip away.  
  
After some time, Youji pulled back, the need for oxygen having become prominent for his body; his breathing was deep, just as Aya's from the kiss, face slightly flushed. Carefully, Youji pushed himself away from the redhead, sitting on his heels, staring down at the floor; Aya pushed himself up, leaning back on his arms, gazing at the blond. A few moments of silence passed between; finally, Youji stood up to his feet, mumbling something Aya could not quite catch. Youji picked Ne-chan up in his arms and left through the door to his room.  
  
Aya merely sat there, staring at the space where Youji had disappeared through. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened or where this situation was going to go in the near future.  
  
"Great... now what do I do??" Aya asked, hoping that the devil girl would appear; sure enough, she appeared on his shoulder, chin resting in her hand.  
  
"Well, you can either tell Youji that you feel the same and work a relationship - or you can just keeping these secret feelings to yourselves!" The redhead glanced at the devil girl on his shoulder, brainstorming through the possible outcomes of the both decisions before trying to decide. He still wasn't sure what to do; he feared that if told the older blond now what he felt, it might be too early and unexpected. However, he felt if he kept this in, he would do something he and Youji would be regret.  
  
"I - I don't know..."  
  
"Always works out that way, doesn't it..." Aya blinked at the girl on his shoulder, noting the sudden serious and almost sad expression in her tone of voice. A long period of silence passed, before she finally looked at him, a wide, gentle smile on her face.  
  
"Daijoubu!! You will know when to tell him!" Before the redhead could open his mouth, she disappeared, leaving him with the empty flower shop. Aya let out a sigh, standing to his feet to finishes cleaning up what little was left to do.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
*grin* Told you you all got a surprise on Aya's (Aka Ran) part. I don't know what I was thinking when I added her into Aya's little world. *Nervous laugh* Guess it just makes him more human. Anyways... late, pop just yelled at me...see you all!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	10. Chapter 9: Please Don't Leave Yet

Yoho!!! YAY!! I finally updated something!!! Gomen nasai, gomen nasai!! Minna-san!! Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you all waiting so long... I'm sort of in a bit of grudge with ff.net - actually I begrudge the person who fricking told me off for an 'underrated' fic when it was perfectly fine!!! *glares at whoever got Hikari in trouble* So I was kind of temporarily banned from uploading. But anyways... Here's the next chapt.  
  
Enjoy!!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai hints?  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji laid on his side, staring out into the space in front of him; Ne-chan laid by his pillow, meowing softly at the awaken blond. Youji smiled, reaching out a hand to gently pet the kitten behind the ears; Ne-chan purred at the action, moving closer to the man. The blond let out a content sigh, averting his gaze just little so he could stare out the window into the night. His mind began to wonder to the events that had happened just a few moments ago in the shop - he remembered how Aya had responded to his kiss, as light as it was. The small response, however scaled, gave Youji great hope for the possibility that Aya could see him more then a co- worker.  
  
// But... How can I let him know I feel the same? //  
  
Youji buried half his face into the pillow, staring out into space; he looked at Ne-chan, the little kitten staring at him with a curious look.  
  
"Ne-chan... I- I don't know if I can tell Aya how I feel..." The kitten blinked, letting out a curious meow. Youji took in a deep breath, before continuing on slowly.  
  
"I mean, what happened in the shop was great and all, but... I just can't tell him." Ne-chan moved from his spot, crawling close to Youji's face; he settled himself just under the blond's chin, purring as he rubbed against Youji. Youji snickered, gently petting the kitten on the head.  
  
"I guess I just think too much... Oyasumi, Ne-chan!" Ne-chan mewed in response, curling down into a little ball against Youji.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya walked down the sidewalk; it was a public holiday, so the shop was closed for today and the streets were extra crowded. He'd felt clustered back at home, so he decided to go for a walk, despite the crowd of people - he found it somewhat relaxing. He needed time to think, to explore through his mind at his conflicting emotions, his cover, the mask he had worn for so long cracking.  
  
Aya sighed as he continued down the side walk, carefully sliding through the crowd so as to not bump into people walking past him on either side. He felt bottled, unable to release the things he wanted to say or get out of his system; he couldn't go back to home, he couldn't tell any of his teammate - especially Youji - how he was feeling. He didn't have any other friends or consolers, and he definitely wasn't going to call on the devil girl or 'inner self' to talk to. If Youji didn't see her, then chances were he looked like he was talking to himself.  
  
// Maybe I'll go visit Aya - it has been a while since I've last visited her. //  
  
With the decision made, Aya carefully turned around, heading back towards a road crossing a little further down the block. He passed by a fairly large building, stopping when a group of people in front of him paused, staring up at it. He couldn't make his way around them with the string of people coming around the other side, so he waited it out till the group in front of him moved.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
"Takara? Takara!! Stay close! We don't want to lose you!!" A young brunette looked at her mother, quickly running after her parents and came up between them. Takara reached for her mother's hand, her other hand going for her father's. The two looked down at the girl with gentle smiles, walking along through the crowds of the mall.  
  
Takara paused, eyeing three little kitties in the window of a pet shop; she tugged on her parents hands, trying to drag them over to the shop. She let them go, coming right up to the glass, staring at the kitties with curious eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to her father.  
  
"Takara, your mother and I have to pick something up - promise us you will stay here till we get back?"  
  
"HAI!!" Takara replied with enthusiasm, turning back to the window to watch the little kitties play with each other. The father shook his head and laughed, he and his wife quickly heading over to the other store. Takara looked behind to see her parents disappearing into the crowd, stepping into the shop to see the rest of the animals. She went over to the pen where the kitties where on display, just barely reaching over the rim of the glass. The shopkeeper came by and picked one of the kitties up, handing it over for Takara to hold.  
  
"Here - makes it a little easier to see the little thing." The shopkeeper smiled sweetly, watching Takara hug the little brown kitten in her arms. She really loved cats, but her grandparents were allergic to cats, and since they visited them a lot, she couldn't keep one. She was about to give the kitten back to the shopkeeper to put back in the pen, when she heard someone screaming. Still holding the creature in hand, Takara ran outside the shop, seeing who was screaming, but all she heard was a loud boom, a large cloud of smoke rushing in her direction.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Youji walked along the sidewalk, with little Ne-chan partially hanging, partially resting on his shoulder. Youji snickered sometimes when the little kitten meowed when he felt he was falling off; Youji readjusted Ne- chan on to his shoulder, and continued walking. True, he received a few stares from people walking by, but he didn't mind; it wasn't everyday you see someone walking around with a kitten on their shoulder.  
  
The blond let out a sigh, his mind wondering back and forth between different events that have happened over the past two weeks and even the very beginning when he first adopted Ne-chan. Youji had been thinking a lot about Aya lately - Ran, more so then he liked.  
  
// Ran... I wonder if we'll all be able to call him that, if his sister wakes up? //  
  
Youji amused himself with his thoughts, when Ne-chan suddenly started to meow loudly and frightfully, pulling the blond away from his thoughts.  
  
"What's wrong, Ne-chan?" No sooner had he asked, he heard a loud bang from above. Youji looked up at a building not too far from him, eyeing the rush of smoke and pieces of the building crumbling away. He heard a few people in front screaming at falling pieces, running off in different directions to avoid being hit. Youji's eyes rested to the entrance of the building, a familiar color catching his attention among the crowd.  
  
// Ran!! //  
  
Youji ran, forgetting Ne-chan was still on his shoulder; the kitten fell off the blond's shoulder, not expecting the sudden movement, but he landed fine on his feet, staring after Youji with worried eyes.  
  
Youji ran faster, seeing the shadow of a fairly large piece over the redhead; Aya looked up, freezing immediately in place. He had heard the explosion and people screaming, but in all of the commotion and confusion, he didn't know what to do. Aya stood there, paralyzed as the large piece fell closer.  
  
"RAN!!" Aya heard his name, before feeling himself be pushed to the ground, hearing the building piece crash to the ground. He waiting for the stinging pain to relieve itself and his vision to clear up before taking a look at who might have called him. Aya looked around, seeing that he was out of danger and in the faint distance could hear sirens coming down the street.  
  
He checked himself, seeing that he was okay, but he couldn't help but wonder who had saved him and how they had known his real name. Aya heard a familiar mew, turning his head to see Ne-chan racing up to him, searching through the pile of rubble in front of the redhead. Aya felt a panic in his chest, watching the kitten sniff through the rock and wiring.  
  
// If Ne-chan is here, and is always around Youji - then that means... !!! //  
  
Amethyst eyes widened; Aya quickly scrambled to his feet, and began shifting and pushing rocks aside, praying hard in his heart for a lie. He heard a very loud, worried meow from Ne-chan, swiftly making his way over to where the creature was. The redhead noticed the kitten pawing at a piece of rock, meowing loudly each time; Aya gently pushed Ne-chan aside, getting a good grip on the rock before pulling it off of what was underneath it.  
  
He successfully pulled it off, eyeing a hand that had been trapped underneath it; if Aya didn't recognize the chain-linked bracelet, he might have assumed it as someone else.  
  
// K'so!! Youji! //  
  
Aya made quick work, removing as much of the rubble as he could, revealing the blond's head after a few good minutes of pulling and pushing back rock. Aya looked down in horror, eyeing the blood puddled around Youji's head; the redhead couldn't tell how badly injured the blond was. He heard voices and shouts from far away, turning his head around to firemen, ambulance and policemen around.  
  
"OI!! Over here!!" Though he hated anyone with authority, Aya was willing to let this go just once - for Youji's sake. Two men made their way over to him, eyeing the bleeding blond trapped under fairly large, fairly heavy pieces of rock. They called back to the others, severally of them almost gaping at the damage; they teamed together to remove the remaining rocks on the blond, a different team carefully carrying him into one of the ambulances.  
  
Aya simply sat aside and watched, unsure of what to think or do; Ne-chan crawled on to his lap, mewing sadly as he laid down on the redhead lap, watching the officials handle the situation. Aya felt a hand on his shoulder, turning his head to look up at its owner - he was surprised that it was Manx.  
  
"Aya, we should get out of the way. I can take you to the hospital where Youji is going." Aya didn't say a word; he picked Ne-chan up carefully, following the redhead secretary to a car parked just one or two blocks away from the incident.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Wai!! Poor Youji!! T_T Um... I won't say what happens to Youji, or else it spoils the whole next chapt. Anyways, another reason why for Aya's little 'inner self' girl, is because she's fun to do! *grin*  
  
Anyway, pls review!! I've been very down lately... and I like to hear what ppl say - even if it is criticism. *Sigh*  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	11. Chapter 10: Is He Your Koi?

Yoho Minna-san! *sweatdrop* kind of a long chapt this time. Hope you all enjoy it! ^^;; I'm sort of getting faster with updates...  
  
Warnings: Slight shounen-ai (somewhere)  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya was seated in the hallway outside the operation rooms when he heard footsteps from down the hall. He looked out of the corner of his eye, spying Ken and Omi making their way quickly towards him, both looking terrible frightened and worried. Omi paused to regain his breath, before vocalizing his worry.  
  
"Aya-kun, what happened? Is Youji-kun going to be okay? Are you okay??" The young blond asked so many questions, Aya wasn't sure which to answer first; he stared down at the floor, slightly hunched over his seat. Ne-chan laid in a seat next to him, small, barely audible worried mews escaping his mouth.  
  
"Easy Omi. Aya - what happened?" The redhead remained silent, not trusting himself with his voice - or emotions - at the moment. Manx come up behind them, seating them down on chairs near Aya; she explained only what she had seen. She wasn't sure how Youji had gotten trapped, but she did hear the explosion a few blocks from where she was. Ken glanced over at Aya, noticing the expression on the redhead's face something more then the usually scowl or glare.  
  
Ne-chan jumped down from the seat, making his way over to Ken and jumped up into his lap. The brunet looked down at the kitten, picking him up into a gentle hug; Ne-chan mewed sadly, burying his face in Ken's arms.  
  
After a few more minutes had passed, one of the few doors down the hall opened, footsteps sounding through the hall. Immediately all three stood up, waiting for the doctor to come closer.  
  
"We've done as much as we could - the rest is up to him now."  
  
"What do you mean? How bad is it??" Omi asked, his hands going over his mouth; the doctor let out a sigh, scratching the back of his head.  
  
"We've gotten him as far as living, just not awake. If your friend wakes up in the morning, then I can opt for a full recovery. However..." The man's tone dropped to a more serious level, the three assassins and a kitten had worried looks on their faces.  
  
"If he doesn't wake up - there's really nothing we can do for him. We shall have to see. Good day." The doctor gave a low bow, before walking off to tend to the other victims of the explosion. Ken let Ne-chan down on the floor, the kitten quietly and cautiously racing down the hallway, sniffing at different doors.  
  
Omi looked to be on the verge of tears, Ken simply stood there, unsure of what to show or feel, and Aya - Aya was confused altogether. Manx cleared her throat, grabbing most of their attention.  
  
"Visiting hour is almost over - Kritiker will be ready to find a replacement, if Youji doesn't wake up." Omi and Ken nodded, Aya let out an inaudible hum, still staring at the space in front of him. Manx nodded in approval, seeing the obvious sadness of the team over this incident; she turned on her heels, heading out towards the exit. Ken and Omi followed behind; Ken looked over at Aya.  
  
"Oi! Aya, come on. It's almost time to go!!" The redhead only stood there, before he began moving, but instead of towards the exit, he followed after Ne-chan who was still sniffing at the doors down the hall. Ken moved to stop Aya, but he felt someone take a light hold of his wrist; he looked to see it was Omi, deep blue eyes threatening to overflow with tears.  
  
"Ken-kun, just let him be... I think he needs to be alone." Ken stared at the boy before slowly nodding his head. Omi released his wrist and turned back to the course of leaving; Ken stood a minute longer, briefly looking back to see Aya disappear down the hall with Ne-chan. Sighing, he started walking to the exit.  
  
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~  
  
Aya walked down the empty halls, following Ne-chan who was sniffing out for Youji's scent. Though how a kitten could track, he wasn't sure of it. Finally Ne-chan stopped at a door, pawing at it and meowing; Aya quietly opened the door, and the kitten slipped in. The redhead followed after, eyes searching the darken room till he found an occupied bed. He stepped in fully, making his way over to the bed; as his eyes became accustomed to the dark, he saw it was Youji, asleep or unconscious on the bed.  
  
Aya stood by the side of the bed, studying the blond in his unconscious state. He slowly began to remember the events that had been happening for the past few weeks - maybe longer. He remembered Youji introducing Ne-chan for the first time; the time when the kitten had stolen his sock and got him tangled in Youji's bed sheets. How Ne-chan had tied his legs together and tripped him; he remembered the dreams he's been having, the devil girl. And the most recent - Youji saving his life.  
  
The redhead felt something he thought he'd never have again - tears. Tears began to slowly overfill his eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks; Aya wiped away his tears before they began, remembering what the devil girl had warned him about.  
  
** "If you don't start showing how you feel to Youji - you're going to lose him very soon!!" **  
  
A small tear escaped, strolling down his cheek. Aya looked down at Youji, eyeing Ne-chan come up to the blond's face, tenderly licking him on the face. Ne-chan mewed sadly, carefully laying himself down by Youji's head and curled into a little ball.  
  
Aya watched as the kitten fell asleep, feeling maybe the same kind of caring - love - feeling Ne-chan showed towards Youji through his own actions. Aya reached his hand out, pushing back stray strands of blond hair away from Youji's sleeping face, carefully leaning in close to the blond's face.  
  
"Youji... don't leave yet...please..." Aya lightly pressed his lips against Youji's slightly parted ones, pulling back after a few minutes had gone by. Aya straightened himself up, eyeing a small couch on the other side of the room, just under a window. He made his way over to the couch, seating himself down and laid on his side. Almost instantly, he fell into a light slumber, which as time rolled on became heavy and deep.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
The bright rays of the sun shone through the partly closed blinds, the faint sounds of birds outside chirping. Amethyst colored eyes opened slowly, blinking to adjust to the light seeping in through the window; Aya carefully sat up, feeling a pain in his neck. On reflex, Aya rubbed his neck, rolling his head around to try and relieve the pain. The redhead let out a sigh, feeling oddly at peace with himself. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before suddenly remembering exactly where he was.  
  
// Youji!! //  
  
Aya stood to his feet, going over to the bed to find it empty - Ne-chan was missing as well. The redhead panicked, before looking at the bed carefully; the sheets were not made up, so it meant Youji might have gotten up and may be walking around now. Aya rushed out the door, quietly as he could, racing down the halls to find where the blond had gone.  
  
He paused at one door, which was slightly open, hearing voices from inside; cautiously he came up aside of it, peeking through the opening. He let out a sigh, seeing Youji was inside and well - expect for the fact he was in a wheel chair, but he seemed to be fine overall. The redhead glanced around the room inside, noticing that the other presence of being were mainly children, ranging from 7 to 13 years of age.  
  
Aya stood quietly and observed - the blond seemed to be telling something to the children, maybe a story. Youji suddenly made a loud noise, some of the children jumping from their places on the floor or screaming then laughing afterwards. Aya felt a small smile form on his face, seeing Youji laughing along with the kids.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
"O-nii-san!! Tell another one!! Tell another scary story!!"  
  
"Iya! Dame da!! I don't want another scary one!!" Youji laughed, gently patting the two kids on the head.  
  
"Daijoubu - No more frightening tales." A disappointing whine sounds from some of the kids, while others let out their breaths at the news. A young brunette, holding Ne-chan in her arms, nodded her head, a large pout on her face.  
  
"Hai!! No more!! Look - even Ne-chan is getting scared!!" She held the little kitten up, showing the other children the expression on the kitten's face. Youji laughed, picking her up from the ground and on to his lap.  
  
"Takara's right, minna. Ne-chan is only still a kitten - he gets frightened very easily." Ne-chan meowed, affirming his master's statement of his fear. Some of the kids pouted, but nodded their heads otherwise; however they still begged for a story, whether scary or not. Youji nodded, still holding Takara and Ne-chan on his lap; after of six minutes of the tale, Takara noticed something from the corner of her eye, looking to the door to see a face peering in. At first she thought it might have been one of the doctors or someone, but she noticed the man had bright red hair and violet colored eyes.  
  
"Ne! Youji-nii-chan!! Is that your koi there? At the door?" Youji blinked, looking over to the door to spy a familiar redhead with slightly wide eyes. Youji blushed, looking at Takara with a slight stern look.  
  
"Now Takara-chan! You shouldn't say things like that!!" The young brunette looked up at him with a slight pout; some of the other children were pouting as well.  
  
"Demo... O-nii-san! When we came by we saw him sleeping on the couch, he looked so sad!!" One of the other children whined, the others nodded as well; Youji felt his blush deepen, running a hand through his hair trying not to embarrass himself or Aya in front of the kids.  
  
Aya stood at the door dumbfounded, blinking at the kids who had assumed he and Youji were together not just as friends. He didn't think or believe orientation of gender could be knowledgeable at their ages, but apparently he was just proven wrong.  
  
"Hai, minna. We can go out to the garden now." A nurse came up from no where, startling Aya a little when she spoke to the children. Their attention immediately went off the subject of Youji and Aya and on to the nurse; some stood to their feet, helping the ones who had been injured in their legs or feet. They followed the nurse to the garden outside at the back of the hospital.  
  
Takara watched as the other kids walked off with the nurse, remaining on Youji's lap with Ne-chan still in her arms. Youji reached one hand for the wheel of the chair, turning himself around to face the door.  
  
"Ne, Takara-chan, why don't you go join them outside?"  
  
"Demo na!! I want to stay with you and Ne-chan!!" Takara pouted, tightening her hold on the little kitten in her arms. Youji laughed slightly at the cute look on the young brunette's face; he gently patted her on the head, looking to Aya who was still standing by the door.  
  
"Oi, Aya. Do you mind wheeling me over to the garden door?" Aya blinked, before walking over to behind the chair, placing his hands on the handle and slowly pushed Youji with Takara and Ne-chan forward. The older man gave directions to Aya, telling him where the garden was; after a few missed turns they managed to make it to the garden.  
  
The nurse from before came up and lifted Takara off Youji's lap. Reluctantly, Takara let go of Ne-chan, letting the kitten stay on the blond's lap; she looked at Youji with a slight pout, hand to her mouth. Youji nodded, giving the small girl a tender smile. Takara smiled back, turning her attention to the other kids playing outside.  
  
Aya stood behind the wheel chair, hearing a content sigh escaping from the blond's mouth. The redhead looked at the older man, but could see nothing from the current angle he was at.  
  
"She really seems to like you..."  
  
"Hn? Takara? Yeah, well - she lost both her parents in the explosion. Doctors say she might not be able to walk again." Aya stared at Youji, hearing the slight sadness in the blond's voice as he talked a little about Takara. The redhead gazed into the tiny garden of the hospital; he watched Takara being carried around by the nurse, and when she was set down, she immediately collapsed to the ground. It was as if her legs were too weak or frail to hold her up.  
  
"You see the boy over in the corner - his right arm in a sling? Bandage going over his left eye? His name's Kazuo. His mother died in the explosion."  
  
Aya only replied with a hum, unsure of what to say to the information. Youji continued on.  
  
"The girl there, a slight limp in her left - she's from Europe. Her name is Anna. She was lucky, both her parents managed to survive."  
  
The redhead listened, letting Youji point out and briefly introduce the children, each one he knew by name and if one, both or none of their parents survived; he stated their state of injury or recovery, and said whether the effect is long-lasting or short term. Aya listened, seeing a side of Youji had only caught a glimpse of before; Aya placed a hand on the blond's shoulder, getting the older man's attention.  
  
"What about you? What does the doctor say about your condition?" Youji blushed faintly, noting the obvious concern in the redhead's voice; he fiddled with his fingers, staring down at the ground in front.  
  
"Well - I'm fine... they say I have a slight dent in my skull from the impact, but the worst is my leg. They say the bone got crushed a bit, but I can still walk once it's healed... just not very well." Aya hummed and nodded his head, gratefully squeezing Youji on the shoulders. The blond let out a long breath, asking if the redhead would mind pushing him back to his room. Aya didn't say anything; he pulled the chair back away from the door, turning it around and wheeled Youji down the hall.  
  
// Youji... I'm glad you didn't leave. //  
  
"What did I tell - if you're not careful, you may lose him!" Aya recognized the voice, feeling a light weight on his shoulder; still walking he glanced to see the 'devil girl' sitting on his shoulder, looking up at him with a slight smile.  
  
// Of all times now!! //  
  
"Hey, I can see what you think you know!! I'm you, I hear what you think!" The redhead let out a sigh, knowing he could talk to his inner self even if he was out in public or around people.  
  
// I - I almost lost him... Youji... //  
  
"You should tell him soon - you might not get another opportunity again!!" Aya nodded his head, feeling the weight disappear from his shoulder; though he felt nervous and a little scared about telling the blond how he felt. He had very little doubts now Youji's feelings towards him, as Aya - no, as Ran. Aya remembered how the blond had called him by his real name when he had saved him, almost costing his own life just save Aya's - Ran's.  
  
A nurse was in the room waiting for Youji, when Aya had gotten them there. She placed her hands on her hips, giving the blond a disapproval look - like a parent to a child who's done something without asking. Youji shrank back slightly against the wheel chair as the nurse lightly scolded him, saying he shouldn't have been up and around. She helped the blond to his feet, walking him over to the bed and settled him down; Ne-chan climbed up on the side, sitting by the pillow, tailing moving back and forth behind him.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Yeah... like I said, long chapt this time. *sweatdrop* I hope minna-san all enjoyed it! No one seems to be around anymore - and that makes Hikari sad. ;_; Not for my sake, but for many others out there who like to read fics... *sigh*  
  
Anyways, pls review - I'll try to get the rest of stuff updated... hopefully I can get flipped two sides updated soon. *weak smile*  
  
Till next time!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	12. Chapter 11: Arigatou

Yoho!! Minna-san!! Updating faster now! *yeah* Might be starting a new fic soon - cause finished one, so... *sweatdrop* But in the mean time, here's the next chapt!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Warnings: light shounen-ai  
  
Pairing: Youji + Aya(aka Ran)  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji took in a deep breath, letting it out in a content sigh as he felt the sun and light wind against his face. He was finally able to leave the hospital after long painful months and go back home. Though his leg hadn't completely healed yet, the doctors allowed him to recover at home. He still couldn't walk, so for now Youji was bound to a wheel chair till the wire framework around his leg was off.  
  
Ken was behind him, carefully wheeling him down the ramp, while Omi walked by his side, ranting wildly on how he had been so scared when he heard what had happened. Youji snickered, patting the boy on the head, which earned him a pout from the younger blond. Youji stopped laughing upon seeing Aya, waiting by the car for them; the blond's smile turned into a nervous one, fiddling with his fingers as he looked down to the ground.  
  
"Do you need help?" Aya asked, coming up to Youji's side; the older man nodded, feeling the redhead take his arm and help him to his feet. Ken come up to the other side, supporting Youji and helping Aya. Omi went and opened the door, holding it open for his teammates to help Youji in.  
  
"MATTE!! YOUJI-NII-CHAN!!!" Youji turned his head back to the entrance of the hospital, finding it was Takara. She wasn't alone, one of the older children was holding her their arms, both looking quite upset. Ken and Aya carefully seat Youji into the car, but he asked that the door not to be closed; they stepped aside, and Youji gestured for Takara and the older kid to come down.  
  
The two came down the steps, stopping just in front of Youji and the car. Takara looked on the verge of crying a waterfall, the older boy freed one of his hands, wiping away the tears before they could spill.  
  
"Youji-nii-chan! Do you have to go?" Takara whined; Youji sighed, nodding his head. He looked to the boy, seeing that the kid was desperately trying to keep his tears back. Youji ran a tender hand through the boy's hair, giving him a certain smile that usually got the raven-head showing his emotions. The boy bit his lower lip, as the tears streamed down his cheeks.  
  
"Why do you have to go??" He finally bursted out, not caring anymore if he was crying.  
  
"Jiro-kun? Promise you'll take care of Takara-chan for as long as you can?" Jiro nodded, wiping at his tears with his free hand. A meow from inside the car got their attention, a little white, brown and black kitten jumping out of the shadows and into Takara's arms. The girl squealed in delight.  
  
"Ne-chan!!" She hugged the little kitten tight in her arms; Jiro smiled, looking to Youji with a more confident look, though tears still spilled from his eyes. Reluctantly, Takara finally let go of Ne-chan, handing him back to Youji. The blond said goodbye to both children, both giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before heading back to the hospital.  
  
Youji held a hand to his cheek at the surprised gesture, feeling a sad smile form on his face. The door of the car closed, once everyone had settled in, the engine sounded and they drove away from the hospital. Youji looked back behind him, seeing the building becoming smaller and smaller the farther they moved, till it finally disappeared from sight. He faced back to the front, feeling his own tears threatening to over flow his eyes. Omi looked over at the older blond, Ne-chan sitting on his lap.  
  
"Youji-kun, daijoubu ka?" Youji nodded, wiping away his tears with his hands. Ne-chan carefully got off Omi's lap, pulling a tissue from the box in the back and handed it to Youji. The blond thanked the kitten, using it to wipe his tears away.  
  
"Looks like those two are really going to miss you, Yo-tan." Ken commented, looking over his seat to glance at the older man. Youji nodded again, staring out his window.  
  
"Aya already knows this - both Takara and Jiro lost their parents in the explosion. They're both going to the same orphanage once the hospital can find one suitable for them." Ken only nodded, staring at the older man before looking to the front again. It was more then obvious what the type of bond was between Youji, Takara and Jiro.  
  
// Bet if Youji could - he would've adopted them... //  
  
Ken mused to himself; he, personally, wouldn't have minded the two around - they both seemed very nice children. He was definitely sure Omi would have lots of fun with them, and maybe they could finally wipe out some of the extra energy the blond always has. Aya - he was sure the redhead would eventually mold into a new routine; plus they might even help him develop some patience. The rest of the car ride to the shop remained in silence.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"KYA! Youji-san!! What happened to you?!" Practically everyone had jumped when some of the fan girls had yelled. Youji took in deep breaths to calm himself down before answering their question; the girls listened intently to his experience and explain the framework around his leg. One of the girls sighed, a slight faraway look on her face.  
  
"You're such a good friend, Youji-san. Risking your life for Aya-san like that!" Youji forced a nervous smile, scratching the back of his head, knowing the real reason wasn't just because Aya was a friend. The story of Youji's involvement with the explosion spread fast among the school girls, to the point where the blond didn't even have to tell the story anymore.  
  
Youji sighed, placing himself behind the counter, since he wouldn't be much use to any other parts of the shop. At least he wasn't receiving too much attention back where he was; occasionally he had glanced over at Aya, who was working on arrangements just a little away. A different voice in the crowded shop caught his attention, looking to the door to find it was one of the children from the hospital.  
  
"Ne! O-nii-chan!!" Youji smiled; it was Anna along with her parents. The young dark-redhead made her way over to him, her tight curls bouncing slightly when she jumped to a stop in front of the counter. Youji signaled her to come around and she did, holding up a small flower for him.  
  
"I grew it myself! Well - mother helped me a little, but I grew it for you!"  
  
"Thank you, Anna." Youji attempted in English; Anna giggled at the weird accent on his English. Anna's parents came up behind her, giving him their gratitude for just being there with their daughter at the hospital. Youji shrugged his shoulders, saying it was not a problem - he was just doing himself a favor. The mother handed Anna a scarf, which she held up for Youji; the blond picked the girl up on to his lap, allowing her to wrap the scarf around his neck.  
  
"Mother says winter is coming soon. You might want something to keep you warm!" Youji smiled, thanking Anna and her parents; finally the European family left the shop with a few flowers Anna had picked out. Youji tugged at the hand-made scarf, loosening it a little around his neck; Ne-chan picked the small flower from Anna in his mouth, going over to Aya and placed it on the table. The redhead blinked at the kitten and the flower, hearing Youji's light snicker behind him.  
  
"I guess Ne-chan is suggesting for you to plant it." Aya looked over his shoulder at Youji, a slight confused expression on his face. The older man smiled, Ne-chan jumping on to his lap; Aya felt a slight twitch of his mouth, but quickly disposed of it, carefully picking the flower up in his hand. He found a small pot just lying around, finding extra soil to pat around it; he hadn't bothered finding gloves, so his hands were soiled stained.  
  
Aya picked the potted plant up, walking over to the counter where Youji had just finished registering a sell for a customer. He set the flower down on the counter, catching Youji's attention; the blond blinked at him for a moment before noticing the pot and the flower Anna had given him.  
  
"Oi, oi! Aya, I was just kidding! You didn't have to pot it for me."  
  
"... I wanted to." Aya mumbled, his words barely audible. Youji blushed, catching the small, mumbled phrase; Aya sat back at his work station before Youji could say a word, setting to work on the arrangement. Youji let out his breath, staring at the redhead then the flower; he let out a sigh, a smile appearing on his face as he leaned his head on one arm on the counter.  
  
// Arigatou... Ran. //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Yo!  
  
Yes, Youji is fine... and Takara and Jiro do kind of look up to him like an older brother. *sighs* They will appear - some time later...  
  
Anyways - Arigatou gozaimasu! Minna-sama!!! For reading... Hope to see all for the next chapt!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	13. Chapter 12: You Would Have Done The Same

Hmmm... a littler shorter then most chapts, but it'll do.  
  
Yoho! Minna-san!!! ^^ Sorry it took me soooooo long to update, but my internet was dead for a while, and just recently got fixed! *Smile* Anyways, here's the next chapt!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai, um slight OOC? (don't know, someone commented that Aya was a little OOC, so just incase. ^^;;)  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
The doctor removed the last notch on the frame, gently pulling the wire off Youji's leg. He instructed the blond slowly rotate his ankle, before saying to move the whole leg.  
  
"Okay - looks like everything went well. It might be a little weak, since you haven't used your leg for the past few months." Youji swung his leg to the edge of the raised table, letting it dangle over the edge. He stepped down on his good leg first, carefully letting the healed leg down; his right leg bended underneath him. He caught the back of the table, supporting himself up from collapsing to the floor. Ken come to his side, helping the blond straighten his leg out before trying to stand on his own again.  
  
He collapsed again, Ken however, managing to be fast enough to catch his fall. The brunet helped Youji stand, leaning part of his weight on his good leg and the rest on Ken. The doctor suggested and explained some exercises that will help strengthen Youji's healed leg.  
  
"Though I will be truthful - Your leg won't be as strong as it use to be. You might end up with a slight unevenness in your walk." Youji nodded, using Ken as a post to stand straight. The two thanked the doctor, and the man wished them a good day, giving them a bill which he said they could pay at the reception desk.  
  
Aya stood outside the office waiting, standing to his feet to take over Ken's position besides Youji. The older man blushed slightly as Aya placed an arm around his waist, pulling his right arm over his shoulder and walked him along. They stopped briefly to pay the woman at the reception desk, before heading down to the car.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya pulled into the garage, both he and Ken getting out at about the same time; before Ken could come around to help Youji out, Aya stopped him.  
  
"I can take care of him - You go tell Omi we're home." The brunet only blinked, but nodded his head anyway. Aya watched Ken disappear through the door, before opening the car door on Youji's side. The blond looked up at him with a smile, unbuckling his seatbelt.  
  
"Thank you for coming, Aya." The redhead hummed, seating himself on the edge of the seat next to the older man. Youji blinked at him, feeling himself blush at the odd light he noticed in amethyst eyes. Youji swallowed past the lump in his throat, scooting a little bit away from the redhead. Aya reached for his hand, holding it lightly in his own; Youji's eyes went slightly wide at the action, feeling his blush deepen.  
  
"I... I'm sorry..." Youji blinked in confusion; the redhead continued, eyes facing down to the floor.  
  
"I was being an idiot and just froze... I don't know what I was thinking..." Finally it seemed to make more sense; Youji realized Aya was talking about the explosion a few months back. How he had saved the younger man's life, but it almost cost his own life in doing so.  
  
Youji felt a smile on his face, pulling his hand out of Aya's, but only to hold the redhead's in return. Aya looked up at him, his face for once in something other then a glare or scowl.  
  
"Daijoubu. I think you would have done the same for me..."  
  
"... Youji..." Youji raised his other hand to gently touch the redhead's face, slowly leaning in to place a light kiss on the mouth. Aya reached his arm around Youji's waist, pulling the blond closer as he deepened the kiss just a little more. Youji didn't feel surprised, he just relaxed further in the embrace, letting out a low moan. Youji pulled back first, staring into Aya's eyes; jade green clashed hard against amethyst.  
  
"We should get to the shop, before they start looking for us." Youji commented; Aya nodded, standing up out of the car, before working on helping the older man out as well. They had a bit of a rocky start, both almost falling to the ground, but somehow managed to stand up. Youji used Aya as support, making their to the door leading to the shop; he looked over to the shorter man, feeling a slight flight in his heart.  
  
// Maybe... maybe this could work out... //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Yeah! You've reached the bottom!! *sweatdrop* sorry for the short chapt, but I didn't want to continue with the next bit just yet... we are getting somewhat close to the end! *gasp!* Maybe just three or five chapts more and it might be done~ But for now... enjoy!!  
  
Arigatou gozaimasu!! Minna-sama!!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	14. Chapter 13: Troubles and Connections

Yo! ^^;; eheh... long chapt this time... Anyways, enjoy!!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai, um... maybe OOC(?)  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji laid on his back, staring up at the sky above him; he enjoyed the slight breeze that blew across his face, the sun shining down warmly on him. He let out a content sigh, closing his eyes.  
  
It had been almost three months since his leg healed; he managed to strengthen it more, so he could walk better then when he first started out. However, he still wavered from time to time, so most of the time he had to be counted out for so missions.  
  
Youji opened his eyes, staring up at the clouds passing by; he thought about that kiss in the car three months ago, before Aya - Ran had helped him out. Their - relationship hadn't really bloomed, but it wasn't writhing either; in most cases, the two just settled for small talks or even just sitting down on the sofa watching a movie or something on TV.  
  
He sighed, taking in a deep breath; it would seem neither of them were willing to make a move, which did disappoint Youji a little, but he wouldn't show it. He thought about the last trip to the doctor, just for a check-up incase, just a while ago. He remembered what the man had said about Takara and Jiro, and he was pleased for them.  
  
** Youji sat legs out on the raised table, as the doctor worked on his leg.  
  
"Oh, Youji-san, I think you might like to know something."  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"It's about Takara-chan and Jiro-kun." The blond's interest suddenly perked up at the mention of their names; he had visited them a few times at the orphanage and learned that Takara was learning to walk again and doing very well. Other then that, he hadn't heard anything new from them.  
  
"Well, both Takara and Jiro are going to be adopted into the same family. A family from England I believe; very sweet couple." Youji felt a smile on his face, glad to know that the two kids would have a good family to grow up in. He was glad that they would be together as well, since they treated each other very much like brother and sister. But - Youji couldn't help to feel sad at the same time; his smile became sad, tears forming in his eyes and slid down his cheek. **  
  
Youji felt the tears spill down his face, going around his ear; he would miss the two very much and would probably not see they as often as they all wished. A trip from, or to, England and back could be expensive after a while.  
  
"So this is where you are!" Youji jumped slightly at the new voice, pushing himself up to a sitting position to see who had snuck up onto the roof. He found it was Aya, along with Ne-chan following behind him; Youji held his arm out as Ne-chan made his way to the blond, jumping on his lap. He laughed softly at the purr noises coming from the kitten. Aya sat himself down next to Youji, coming close enough to be able to lean his head on the blond's shoulder, but didn't. Youji instead, took the initiative, leaning his head against the younger man's chest.  
  
"Daijoubu ka?" Aya reached his arm around Youji's waist, pulling the older man closer to him. Youji nodded his head.  
  
"Hai... Why?"  
  
"You're crying." Youji sighed, burying his face into Aya's chest; his hand went to pet Ne-chan on the head, so he wouldn't be receiving sad sounding meows from the kitten. He told Aya about Takara and Jiro and how the two were going to be adopted - but they would be out of the country. The family that had adopted them were from England and planned to go back with the two children once they got their passports validated.  
  
"You will miss them, won't you?" The blond simply nodded his head, feeling his tears fall more freely then before. Aya reached his other arm around Youji, resting his chin on the man's shoulder; Youji let his face rest in the crook of the redhead's neck.  
  
"You know we can't take care of them - Jiro and Takara. It would interfere with who we are."  
  
"I know, but..." Youji pulled back slightly, staring straight into Aya's eyes. He raised his hands to hold the younger man's face with a tender and light touch.  
  
"I just wished - for any sign of a normal life... not as assassins, just as people... Takara and Jiro - and Ne-chan, all make feel like a normal person in life. No sins, no guilt - nothing..." Aya listened patiently, reaching his own hands to gently take Youji's into his. Youji looked at him, feeling his hands be removed from the face and placed on the lap; green eyes conflicted with the color of violet.  
  
"... Ra- Aya..."  
  
"Nani ka?" Youji shook his head.  
  
"Betsuni." Youji turned around, facing away from the redhead; he adjusted his position to a more comfortable arrangement, gently petting Ne-chan on the head. He felt Aya's hand rest on his shoulder, not daring to look at him.  
  
"You almost said 'Ran', didn't you?"  
  
"Gomen ne..." Youji felt the hand slid off, hearing the redhead shift position; it startled him a little when Aya sat opposite of him, his front facing him. Aya moved and twisted himself in a way so that he was close enough to the blond's face; Youji felt himself blush, pausing his task of petting Ne-chan. Aya leaned in close.  
  
"Ran is okay - but only for you..."  
  
"...Aya - Ran..." Youji felt his pulse beating rapidly, his heart beat pounding in his ear; he should be somewhat use to these kisses by now, but he still felt nervous.  
  
"OI!! Youji, Aya - we have..." Ken stopped at the door, just seeing the two pull apart from each other; he guessed by the death glare the redhead gave him meant he interrupted at a bad time. Ken sighed and shrugged his shoulders, before dropping back to the serious tone.  
  
"We have a bad situation! Youji - you should hear this." Youji stood to his feet, holding Ne-chan in his arms; he looked at the brunet curiously.  
  
"Why? What is it?"  
  
"It - it's about Takara-chan." Youji's eyes went slightly wide, a fear suddenly flooding his heart; his pulse was beating for a different feeling now. Ken signaled them to follow him downstairs; Youji let Ne-chan down to the ground, following after Ken the best he could without collapsing. Aya followed closely behind in case Youji were do just so.  
  
Ken led them towards Omi's room, where the younger blond was taking care of a boy; Youji recognized the raven-head boy as Jiro. Youji rushed by to the bed, kneeling down and ran a gently hand through Jiro's hair; the boy looked at him, trying to a raise a hand to grab Youji's.  
  
"No, you shouldn't move!" Omi commented, carefully tending to the deep wounds and some burns. Youji looked over the boy, eyeing several burns, but nothing looking too serious; there were some light scratches and a few deep wounds.  
  
"Jiro-kun, what happened?"  
  
"Takara... s-she's in trouble..."  
  
"No, don't say anything yet - you need to rest!" Youji tried to remain calm, but he could feel his tears escaping his eyes at the thought of Takara in trouble. Even just seeing Jiro in this state, worked on him; Aya stood at the door, unsure of what to do or how to handle this situation.  
  
He felt a light weight on his shoulder, looking to his right to spy his little devil girl inner self sitting there. She stared at the scene in front of her, the same sad and unsure look as he had; as if she herself did not know what to do.  
  
// I don't know what I can do... //  
  
"It's okay... I don't either..."  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at the boy asleep under the covers; after Omi had finished tending to Jiro's injuries, they had moved him to Youji's room. The blond hadn't left since he was brought in.  
  
On occasion, either Omi or Aya would come up to check on both of them. There were times Jiro would wake up for a bit, and tell a small part of what had happened to him and Takara. Youji had managed to learn that the orphanage had been blown up, which was why he had a few burns. Before that however, some men had invaded the building and tried to take Takara away. Jiro had tried to protect Takara, which is why he had a few deep wounds from the knives they were carrying.  
  
"Takara - she's in trouble!!"  
  
"Shh, easy Jiro-kun. You have to rest... please." The raven-head stared down at the bed, before carefully leaning his head back down on the pillow. Youji ran a tender hand through his hair, gently tucking him in, being careful not to brush against any of the injuries.  
  
Youji watched as the boy tried to find a position that didn't sting before he finally fell asleep. Youji watched Jiro's sleeping face, the sadness and worry for Takara shown in his expression.  
  
He jumped slightly at the sudden hand on his shoulder, turning his head to see it was only Aya behind him. The blond let out a sigh, reaching a hand to place over the redhead's.  
  
"Easy Youji. We will find Takara... Alive!"  
  
"I know... A-Ran? Can you take care of Jiro for me?" The redhead blinked at him; Youji stood to his feet, giving a brief hug to Ran before heading towards the door.  
  
"Oi! Where are you going?"  
  
"To find out who took Takara!" Ran stared after Youji, before moving to stop the older man, but the door closed on him and he stopped. Ran stood there in the middle of the room, before letting out a sigh and heading over towards the bed. He pulled a chair up to the edge, watching over the boy sleeping in Youji's bed.  
  
Aya leaned his head back against the chair, closing his eyes.  
  
"Where is he going?" Aya brought his head back up, opening his eyes to gaze down on Jiro, who was awake and starting up at him.  
  
"He's going to find who took Takara-chan." Jiro hummed, carefully pushing himself up to a sitting position. Aya moved to gently set the boy back down, but Jiro whined a little, stopping the redhead's hand from grasping him.  
  
"I'm not sleepy anymore... What is your name?"  
  
"A... Ran. Fujimiya, Ran." Jiro blinked, staring up at the redhead with curious eyes. He reached out a hand for Ran's face, timidly brushing his fingers along the man's cheek and into his hair. The boy gently combed through red locks, eyeing the golden, dangling earring when he pulled the ear tail back slightly.  
  
"My sister - she wore earrings like too." Jiro cautiously tapped the rod, the golden piece swaying slightly. Ran stopped the motion, feeling it begin to bother him; he looked at the raven-head with faint curiosity.  
  
"You had a sister?" He asked; Jiro nodded.  
  
"Hai - older. She died in the explosion... along with my parents." Jiro gazed at the space in front of him, small tears beginning to escape his eyes. Ran watched him, remembering the death of his own parents; but he was lucky - he still had Aya, his sister.  
  
"I have a sister too... younger. Our parents - they were killed." Jiro looked up at the redhead, tears falling freeing down his face. Ran's head was faced to the side, but Jiro could see the tears too that began to flood the redhead's eyes. Jiro reached his hand out, placing it over Ran's.  
  
"Then... you and I - are almost the same..." Ran blinked, turning his head back to face the boy. He looked down at the hand on his own hand, feeling a slight smile on his face; Ran reached his other hand over the boy's.  
  
"Almost... my sister is still alive - she's just never going to awaken." Jiro blinked, hearing the shaking in Ran's voice as he spoke. The raven- head lifted his other hand to Ran's face, gently combing his fingers through red hair.  
  
"Can I call you nii-chan?" Ran blinked, staring at the boy with a blank expression on his face. Jiro was still young, maybe only two years older then Takara, which Ran guessed she was about 9 years old. And Jiro had mentioned about an older sibling - Ran made a wild guess that Jiro just wanted someone who would give that kind of love to him. The redhead smiled.  
  
"Hai..."  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Blah... don't like the ending too much but it'll have to do. We are - somewhere close to ending this fic. *sighs* It always feels funny once a fic is done, doesn't it?  
  
Anyways, getting into some deep stuff here - some angst. Youji will rescue Takara - but they find something else about Takara as well!! Anyways, pls R&R!!  
  
ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!! MINNA-SAMA!!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	15. Chapter 14: Phone Call

Yo!! Finally managed to write something!! Sorry minna-san, but I was on Christmas vacation in Utah and couldn't do much writing. I'm still not going to do much writing cause it's study for exams week!!! *dies*  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Warning: Shounen-ai  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji closed the front door behind him, quickly dropping by the mission room, where Ken and Omi were hacking for clues to who might have blown the orphanage up and kidnapped Takara.  
  
"Anything?" Youji asked; Ken looked at the older man, shaking his head. Youji gazed down at the floor with down-crested eyes.  
  
"Sou ka..." A long silence hung between the three; Youji listened to Omi's fingers typing away at the keyboard, hoping for some kind of a clue to appear. Youji broke the silence, turning around to head upstairs.  
  
"Keep searching - there has to be something!!"  
  
"Hai!" Both Ken and Omi replied; they listened as the older man went up the spiral stairs, the door closing shut.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji walked up the stairs towards his room, pausing at his door; he leaned his forehead against the surface, trying to keep back his tears from falling down his face. Once he had managed some control over his emotions, he stood straight up, turning the handle on the door. Youji quietly stepped into the darken room, incase Jiro was still sleeping. He walked lightly across his room, over to a dresser which housed a lamp; he turned it on, the dim light showing just enough detail, without it being too bright.  
  
Youji let out a sigh, staring at his reflection in the mirror that also rested on the dresser. He noticed two figures behind, which he guessed were Jiro and Aya. Youji walked over to the bed, a little bit surprised at the sight he came upon; Aya had moved from the chair to the bed, having fallen to a light slumber. Jiro was more in the middle, so the redhead's body cling the best it could on the edge; but what surprised Youji was that the two were holding each other's hand.  
  
// ...Ran... You're really warm underneath the ice. //  
  
Youji smiled to himself, and as quietly as he came, left the room to go check on Ken and Omi. He closed the door lightly behind him, before heading down to the mission room.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"Poor Youji-kun! He's really worried about Takara-chan's safety." Omi commented, still searching through the files he had hacked from the police investigation of the orphanage. Ken nodded his head, his action visible to the boy reflected on the screen. The three of them had searched non-stop since they found out about what had happened, Youji the most, was determine to found out who kidnapped Takara and why.  
  
"I'm going to get a drink - just skim through the files, Ken-kun!"  
  
"Hai." Omi stood up from the chair, allowing Ken to sit down and brief through the information. Omi headed up the spiral staircase, up to the kitchen. He took a cup down from the cupboard, opening the refrigerator door and searched the contents inside; he settled for juice. Omi popped the cap open, ready to pour when the phone rang from the living room. Letting out a sigh, he placed the cap on the bottle, racing out of the kitchen and quickly picked the phone up.  
  
"Moshi, moshi?"  
  
/ "May I speak to Kudou..."  
  
"Um - sure... who is this?"  
  
/ "It's not polite to ask that question - is he there?"  
  
Omi carefully placed the phone down on the table, quickly running upstairs, bumping into the older man in the halls.  
  
"Youji-kun - It's for you."  
  
"Domo." Youji speed walk downstairs, eyeing the phone lying on its side on the small table. He picked it up, speaking into the receiver.  
  
"Moshi, moshi?"  
  
/ "I know you're looking for her..."  
  
"Nani?!"  
  
/ "Takara - I know you're looking for her. I have her!"  
  
"Where is she?? If you done anything to her, I'll..."  
  
/ "She's fine - I'll give you a hint, searching the remains of the orphanage. There's a clue that the police didn't find - it will lead you to her... and me."  
  
"..."  
  
/ "I'll be waiting!"  
  
The phone went dead, the single toned beep sounding in Youji's ear. Youji slammed the phone down the receiver, rushing to grab his coat and his keys. Omi came down just in time to see the older man heading for the door.  
  
"Youji-kun! Where are you going??"  
  
"To check something! I'll be back." With that, Youji disappeared through the door, the sound of an engine soon sounded after. Omi ran to the window, seeing Youji's car disappear down the street.  
  
// Youji-kun. //  
  
Omi stood by the window, staring out at the street; he finally headed back to the kitchen, continuing with his forgotten task of pouring himself juice. He put the bottle back into the refrigerator, heading back down to the mission where Ken was still sitting at the computer, just finishing the last sentence of the file. Omi took over to the seat, and began typing away again, searching around investigation and media files for any clues that might have been picked up or left behind.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji stepped out of his car, staring at the burnt remains of the building. It was late afternoon, so no one was around the area since the explosion. He stood there for several minutes, before taking step into the debris and searched through with a careful eye, occasionally kicking or moving ashen piles with his foot.  
  
He soon came across the area where Jiro and Takara were kept when the building was still standing, remembering vaguely what the outline had been like. He sank to his knees, and began moving stones and ashes with his hands, the surface becoming blackened by the soot and ash. Once he shifted through the pile, he moved to the next, his hands becoming increasingly darker with each stone he moved aside. By the fifth pile, he came across an object; he dug it up from underneath the soften ash, pulling out a soot- covered pendent on an equally tarnished silver chain.  
  
Youji wiped his hands off the best he could, before blowing and wiping away the ash bits that rested in the grooves and dips of the pendent. After several minutes, the grooves formed letters, the dips becoming a pattern. He stared closely at the pendent, trying to make out the words; he jaw slacked slightly when he discovered the logo of the jewelry.  
  
// It... it couldn't be! He's - he's dead!! //  
  
Youji's grip tightened around the object; he couldn't help but feel an old rage build up in him, feeling his teeth clench shut. He stood up to his feet, walking fast to his car and climbed in; once he started the engine, he stepped hard on the petal, not caring if he was breaking a few minor speed rules.  
  
// If it is him - I'll make sure he stays dead!! //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Hmm... bit short, but all well - here's all I have for now! Arigatou, minna- san for reading!! Hope to see soon, next time on Koneko!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	16. Chapter 15: Satan

Yoho Minna-san!! yeah!! Exams are OVER!!! Course, I failed most of them!! Math especially *sighs* But! I managed to update something!! *yay!* So, here you go!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Warning: shounen-ai hints  
  
Pairing: Youji + Aya  
  
Rating: PG  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"O-ni-chan? O-ni-chan?" Ran kept his eyes closed, feeling this was just a dream. It wasn't really his sister calling him, Aya could not have waken up and by there calling him o-ni-chan.  
  
"O-ni-chan!" Ran felt someone tap him lightly on the shoulder, reluctantly opening his eyes from his light sleep. He stared up into light brown eyes; Ran blinked, pushing himself up to a sitting position. He looked around the room, finding he was still in Youji's room. He looked down at Jiro, who was wide-awake and gazing at him.  
  
"Jiro-kun... aren't you suppose to be sleeping?"  
  
"It's morning, o-ni-chan! See!!" Jiro pointed past the curtains and out the window; sure enough, the light morning sun was shining through the glass. Ran blinked, standing up from the bed and stretched his arms, walking over to the window. He unlocked it and opened it up, a light breeze blowing through the opening. The redhead felt a light smile on his face at the sudden peace he felt within himself; he turned to face Jiro, the smiling disappearing, but the hint of it's presence there.  
  
"We should change your bandages." Jiro carefully tossed the covers off himself, making an attempt to stand and walk to the bathroom. Before the boy could put his feet on the ground, Ran already had a good hold under his arms, slowly lifting Jiro off the bed.  
  
"I can walk!!"  
  
"But it hurts, doesn't it?" Jiro stared at him with a blank look, before nodding his head in response.  
  
"See." Ran carried Jiro in his arms to the bathroom, carefully setting the boy down on the floor, before moving to retrieve the first aid kit from the cabinet. He kneeled in front of the raven-head, opening the kit first, then began to undone the wrap of the bandages. Jiro watched, as gentle, pale hands cleaned and sterilized his healing wounds and burns, wrapping them with a fresh bandage.  
  
"There - done."  
  
"Arigato, o-ni-chan!" Ran smiled a little, carefully picking Jiro in his arms again. He carried the boy downstairs to the kitchen, to get something for both of them to eat. He noticed Ken and Omi in the living room, both seeming panicked; Ran quickly took care of Jiro, before heading over to see what had happened.  
  
"Oi - daijoubu ka?" Omi looked at the entering redhead, holding up a stain pendent. Ran looked at the object blankly, not understanding the meaning of it.  
  
"We found this on the floor by the door - I think Youji-kun knows where Takara-chan is and went after to find her."  
  
"By himself? Why didn't anyone stop!?" Ran raised his voice little; he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"No one was awake - he left sometime in the early morning. The pendent is the only clue we have." Ran remained silent, going over to Omi to take the silver pendent from the boy's hands. He stared at the piece of jewelry in his hand, a small bit of ash blackening a tiny part; he traced the words with his thumb, reading them in his mind.  
  
// ...Satan...? //  
  
"The word is not very helpful, but it's the only clue we have to find Youji- kun and Takara-chan." Ran tightened his hand around the piece, wondering why Youji hadn't said anything and why the blond had gone off without even saying a word to them about Takara's whereabouts. Ran handed the pendent back to Omi, heading to grab his coat.  
  
"There has to be something related to that word - Satan - we have to look!!"  
  
"Hai!" Ran grabbed a set of keys, heading towards the front door. He paused, hearing a worried meow from behind; the redhead looked behind him to see Ne-chan standing there, green eyes looking up at him. Ran moved to pick Ne-chan up, the little kitten staring up at him quite confusingly.  
  
"Youji is precious to you too. You can help as well." Ne-chan meowed to affirm the statement; Ran hummed, going out the door and started walking in any direction, with Ne-chan in his arms.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Omi let out a huge sigh of disappointment; he reached into his pant pocket, pulling out the pendent with the word Satan on it. He had brought to school to see if anyone could make any connections with the word or the designs of the logo - he came out empty handed. Omi sighed again, walking and staring down at the pendent as he headed for the school gates.  
  
"Oi! Tsukiyono!!" Omi jumped at the voice, feeling an arm link him around the shoulder. Omi turned his head to find it was only one of his friends, with a wide grin on their face. Omi narrowed his eyes at the other blond.  
  
"Don't ever do that again!!"  
  
"Gomen - but you just looked so out of it. What's up?" Omi shrugged the arm off his shoulder, staring back down at the pendent. He showed it to his friend, asking if he knew anything that would match.  
  
"Hmm... let me see that!" The other blond took the pendent, moving it around in his hands; he stared closely at the detail and style that the word was carved in.  
  
"Say - isn't Satan that old club? The one that closed down a few years back?"  
  
"I think so...!!!" Remembrance suddenly dawned on Omi, as he remembered a picture he had seen once lying around with Youji's things. It was a picture of the older man a few years back when he was a teen; Youji was standing in front of a night club, and Omi remembered clearly that the name was in bright red neon lights... Satan.  
  
"YES!! It is!! Arigatou Sakon-kun!!" Omi gave his friend a huge hug, before taking the pendent back and raced off, saying a quick good-bye to Sakon. The other blond simply stood there, frozen as he watched Omi disappear through the gates.  
  
// Did Omi just... hug me?? //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji stepped out of his car, staring up at the old building. The doors, that once stood bright and clean, was now barely able to hang on their hinges. Windows had been barred up to keep the homeless out from living it; and bright red neon lights were broken and unusable, reading the word Satan.  
  
He stood there in front of the old building for several minutes before finally marching towards the building. He tested the door, creaking on its rusting hinges. Youji performed a powerful kick, the door flying off its hinges and on the dusty floor inside.  
  
// I will kill if you are alive!! //  
  
With cautious steps, Youji entered the abandoned club, waving away the dust and particles hanging in the air. The area was dark due to the lack of light, just barely able to seep through the holes of the planks on the windows. Youji walked around carefully, feeling a little nostalgic at the surroundings. He remembered how fond he was of this club back a few years ago; Youji shook the smile off his face, becoming serious in searching the club for clues.  
  
He walked to the very back, just a little behind the dusty bar; Youji ran his hands along the walls, knowing of a secret passage he and his friends had found once when they were here. His fingers came across an indentation along the wall; he felt it, knowing it as the familiar symbol of Satan. Youji found the center, and pushed it in, hearing the sounds of a door sliding open. He moved his hand right from the carving, finding the opening that had opened up and stepped in.  
  
The door automatically slid closed behind him, leaving him in completely darkness. Suddenly, bright lights switched on, blinding Youji for a few minutes. The blond couldn't adjust to the bright light, holding his arms over his head to soften the brightness.  
  
"I knew you would come... I've waited so long..." A voice spoke through a speaker Youji knew was somewhere on the walls, but he couldn't face the light to find it. He heard something drop with a light klick, staring down at the floor to see what dropped. A leak sound followed after, the air suddenly having a color and a smell to it. Youji placed his hands over his mouth and nose, trying not to breathe in the gas as he coughed.  
  
"Don't bother trying to breathe it out - it'll get to you before you can escape." Youji backed up against the door, the vapor closing around him. He pulled one hand away from his face, searching frantically for the switch that opened the door again, but he couldn't find it. He felt his mind begin to fog, feeling his limbs weaken a little as the gas filled his body. Finally his vision began to waver, till Youji passed out.  
  
"Told you, you would never make it out." The voice on the speaker let out a soft laughter, which gradually turned into a loud, menacing laugh.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
"Aya-kun hurry!! We don't how long Youji-kun's been out there!!" Aya sped along the empty road, ignoring everything around him, even Omi's rants about going faster. He couldn't understand why Youji didn't tell them anything if he knew - why the blond didn't tell him anything. It made Aya wonder if Youji didn't trust fully just yet. He snapped out of his thoughts, hearing Omi saying that he was going to miss a turn; Aya quickly spun the wheel around, the force of the turn knocking his teammates to the side.  
  
Finally, they came to the abandoned building, eyeing Youji's car parked just out front of the place. They all quickly climbed out, briefly checking over the older man's car before rushing through the door the blond had already broken down.  
  
Omi took out his little flashlight, shining it around the area. Aya directed Ken and Omi into two different directions, branching off to cover more area of the club. Omi headed left, Aya went straight and Ken headed right towards the bar area. Ken walked cautiously through the dust and pieces that lay on the floor, a different smell catching his attention. It was very faint, but he followed it easily to it's source, surprised when he came upon a wall.  
  
"OI!! Omi, Aya!! I think I found something!!" Ken's voice echoed slightly through the old building, the sounds of his teammates footsteps resounded through. Omi came up with his flashlight; Ken took it from the boy's hand, shining it on the wall.  
  
"What is it Ken-kun?"  
  
"Take a sniff." Omi and Aya looked at each other briefly, before taking in a deep breath; Omi almost collapsed from the dizziness that suddenly flooded his mind. Ken had made a quick grab, holding the boy up.  
  
"It- it's gas..."  
  
"Easy Omi..." Aya took the flashlight from Ken, while the brunet tended to Omi. Omi was much smaller then his two teammates, so it seemed the gas affected him on such a light dose then Ken or Aya.  
  
Aya shined the light along the walls, coming across a carved symbol on the wall. Staring at it, the redhead reached his hand out, tracing the symbol with his fingers. He pushed on the center, the mark sinking into the wall; the wall to the right slid open, a very faint colored vapor pouring out of the hidden room. Ken retreated back, still holding Omi in his arms; Aya covered his nose and mouth with his arm, stepping back from the gas. Once the vapor had dispersed, Aya walked into the room, finding it empty; he shone the light around the area, finding a canister lying around on the floor.  
  
Aya picked it up, examining the cylinder piece with a careful eye. He walked back out of the room, the door sliding close behind him; he signaled to Ken they should leave. The brunet followed behind, carrying a half conscious Omi in his arms.  
  
Once outside, Aya took Omi from Ken, telling the brunet to drive Youji's car back home. Ken opened his mouth to question how, but Aya was quick to answer.  
  
"He left his keys in the ignition." Ken didn't complain; Aya strapped in Omi in the back seat, before climbing into the driver's side. Ken carefully seated himself in Youji's car, feeling a little nervous driving it himself. He watched Aya drive off, letting out a nervous about touching one of Youji's most precious possessions besides Ne-chan, Takara and Jiro. Seeing no choice, Ken turned the keys, starting up the engine and drove off slowly.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Wai! Made it to the bottom!! *smile* Thank you for reading - don't worry!! Youji is okay - I think... ¬_¬"  
  
Hope you enjoyed this chapt!! Thank you all for reading!! Till next time!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	17. Chapter 16: A Clue That Leads to The Dea...

Yoho Minna-san!! I finally updated something!! ^^ Well, I'm slowly working on the others - some have come to a plot-stump, so it'll be a while - gomen!  
  
Anyways, here's the next chapt! Enjoy~!  
  
Warnings: Ehee... ^^;; a, um, slight scene not unmentionably goes beyond shounen-ai warning - but it's NOT Youji and Aya.  
  
Pairing: Youji + Aya, and a surprise one that I didn't even expect!!  
  
Rating: PG-13 (upping it just a little bit - just to be on the safe side!)  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
They made it to the shop, Ken following behind a little slower then Aya, since he was being careful with Youji's car. The effects of the gas had worn off on Omi about half-way through the trip, which worried Aya on how long a heavy dose would last. Aya got out of the car, heading towards the shop door, with Omi following right behind him; he still had the gas canister he had found and would ask Manx to have it analyzed to see who made it. He opened the door, stopping suddenly that Omi bumped into him.  
  
"Oi, Aya-kun, why did you...?" Omi paused, looking past the redhead to see a dark blond sitting on of the stools, leaning on his arms against the counter, a cigarette in his mouth.  
  
"Hope you don't mind - I let myself in." He ran a hand through silky, wavy hair, looking up at Omi and Aya standing in the door way. Omi looked slightly surprised, while Aya gave the dark blond his most deadliest glare.  
  
"Kuroko-kun, what are you doing here?" Kuroko stood up from the stool, ruffling Omi's hair. The young blond pouted, hitting the hand in his hair; Kuroko laughed, taking a drag from the cigarette, blowing it away from them. Aya heightened his glare more, finding the possible influence in Youji's life.  
  
"Ah, gomen - I kind of lagged behind and... Kuroko!!"  
  
"Yo, Ken!" The dark blond waved, giving Ken his best smile; the brunet turned to look away, not daring to make eye-contact with the taller man. It only made Kuroko laugh.  
  
"Kuroko-kun!! You still haven't answered my question!!!" Omi whined, getting the older man's attention. Kuroko hummed, taking his cigarette out and snuffing it with his own fingers and tossed in a waste bin nearby.  
  
"I came here to see how my baby cousin was doing... Where is Youji anyway?"  
  
"He's been captured!!" Aya responded quite quickly; Kuroko looked at the redhead with a slight questioning look.  
  
"Youji's been - caught?" They all sat down at a table while explaining to Kuroko what happened a few months ago with the explosion up till now, with Takara's kidnapping. Kuroko leaned his chair back, his knee pressed against the edge of the table keeping him that way. Aya glared at the dark blond, annoyed at how Kuroko's personality allowed him to be that way and how he never seemed to tip over at the angle he was always leaning at. Kuroko had his arms across his chest, listening to ever detail of what had happened.  
  
"Hn - you find one clue and arrive too late to find nothing..."  
  
"The pendent was all we had; by the time we figured out the meaning - Youji- kun was already long gone. We couldn't stop him." Omi looked ready to cry; Kuroko scratched the back of his head, dropping his knee down and let his chair sit on all four legs. He patted the boy on the head, getting Omi to look up at him; what may have looked like an apathetic expression, sounded like very warming words.  
  
"Arigatou, Kuroko-kun!" Omi stood up from his chair, going over to the dark blond to hug him. Kuroko closed his eyes in annoyance, but he didn't push Omi away.  
  
"Oi, oi, oi!! I don't do hugs - get off already!!!"  
  
"We didn't come out clueless..." Everyone directed their attention to Aya. The redhead placed the canister he found on the table, rolling it to Kuroko. Kuroko stopped it, picking it up in his hand. He stared at the piece, examining every inch of the thin metal shell.  
  
"We're sending it to Kritiker to be examined for the maker."  
  
"Don't bother - the guy who used to make this kind of shell is dead." Everyone stared at Kuroko in surprise; the dark blond twirled the canister in his hand, catching it and holding up the bottom end towards them, showing the logo imprinted on the bottom.  
  
"It's a classic trade-mark, but no one really uses it anymore... expect for one."  
  
"Who?" Ken asked, leaning slight over the table. Kuroko set the can down, making it stand straight up.  
  
"Akagawa... someone who's been dead for three years now."  
  
"How do you know?" Kuroko gazed down at the table, a sudden sadness appearing on his face. It was a mild surprise to them, since they rarely ever seen any other expressions beside nothing, grins and a few glares on the man's face.  
  
"Because I had to kill him..."  
  
** "What the HELL did you do to Youji?!" Kuroko held Akagawa against the wall, the younger boy's feet barely touching the ground.  
  
"What? Is it so terrible to take a pretty so curious and willing?" The raven-head replied with a smirk, which only proved to work on Kuroko's nerves more.  
  
"He didn't look happy - and he certainly didn't seem 'willing'!!" Akagawa tossed his head to the side, giving the older man a snuff look. Kuroko slammed him against the wall, complete rage showing everywhere on him.  
  
"What in hell made you think you could just do that to Youji?!"  
  
"Do what?" Akagawa asked innocently, though his expression didn't seem to show the voice. Kuroko slammed him again, harder then the last time.  
  
"You know perfectly well 'what'!! How dare you lay a hand on him!!"  
  
"Pleasure is pleasure, sex is sex - he actually did quite well for a first time." The raven-head replied with a bit of amusant in his voice and on his face; Kuroko did not find the answer very amusing. He tightened his hold on Akagawa's shirt, letting out an enraged scream, throwing the younger boy against the opposite wall. The raven-head laid unconscious when Kuroko grabbed his head with both hands and began bashing it against the wall, each time letting out a scream.  
  
Finally, Kuroko stopped, releasing Akagawa's head and let the raven-head's body slid to the ground. He was breathing unevenly from the screaming and pounding; he couldn't tell if Akagawa was unconscious or dead, but he didn't care right now. All Kuroko could see was red.  
  
// If you EVER lay a filthy hand on Youji again - I'll make sure even Hell doesn't have a place for you!! //  
  
Kuroko left, heading back home to tend to Youji's wounds, but he knew no matter what he did - the younger blond would never heal.  
  
The next morning, Kuroko was arrested for murdered and tried guilt in court. **  
  
By the end of the story, Kuroko had his head completely down, avoiding eye contact with everyone.  
  
"Kuroko-kun..."  
  
"I just - wanted to protect my baby cousin... we had no one else, but each other." Kuroko's voice sounded like it was cracking as if he was about to cry. Omi glance at him, before looking to the canister. Omi reached for it, staring at the logo on the bottom. Ken gazed at Kuroko, before turning to Aya and Omi; he quietly asked if they could leave him alone with Kuroko. Omi blinked in confusion, but he nodded his head; Aya simply followed the boy outside, leaving the two alone.  
  
"If you need to... you can cry now, Kuroko." Ken commented, once he was sure Omi and Aya were out of hearing range. Kuroko shook his head in response, but his tears came anyway. Ken stood to his feet, carefully reaching a hand out for the older man's shoulder. Kuroko looked up at him, tears still streaming down his face; before Ken could react, Kuroko had pinned him down on the table, hovering over him.  
  
"O-OI!! I said you can cry!! Not this!?" Ken blushed at the look the dark blond was giving, mumbling nonsense words. Kuroko leaned close, his breath blowing against Ken's mouth as he spoke.  
  
"Urusai..." Ken kept quiet as he felt the older man part his lips. He reached his tongue out to meet him; Kuroko tasted like smoke, a drug and a natural spice. Ken reached his arms around Kuroko's neck, one hand burying itself in long, dark, wavy blond hair; he lifted one leg to wrap around Kuroko's. The dark blond didn't need any further invitation.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Yeah... Sorry for the sudden appearance of Kuroko... but you know, you kind of just think and boom! You get an idea and it just sounds good, y'know? *sighs* Anyways, I really was not expecting 'Kuroko' to appear as a character - he didn't even exist till now!!! *big sigh* I didn't even think he would be coupled with Ken till after the flashback!! *double big sigh - maybe...*  
  
Anyways, thank you minna-san for reading!! Please review! I would much appreciate it!! Arigatou again for reading!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	18. Chapter 17: Gomen

Yoho! Minna-san!! Woo!! Finally updated something! Gomen nasai for being late and all... been kind of tied up with things and stuff... anyways... let's move on.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai/yaoi?  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Omi sat down on the couch, again and again staring at the canister they had brought back with them. Since Kuroko said the maker was dead, it made the blond wonder then who had really taken Youji - and what worried him the most, why. Omi glanced behind him, watching Aya pace slightly back and forth, trying to keep his face as passive as possible.  
  
Omi sighed, turning back around and stared more at the can; Ken was still in the kitchen trying to comfort Kuroko. Omi had suggested if he should go and get the two, but Aya had strongly opposed it and said to just let the two be until they're ready. The blond sighed again, holding the canister on his side, staring at the trademark of the maker on the bottom. He squinted, taking in more detail of the mark.  
  
// This mark... I've seen this before! //  
  
Omi stood up from the couch and headed downstairs to the mission room computer; he set the can down with the trademark visible and began clicking away at the keyboard.  
  
// A cross through a spade - common, but unusually to use... I know I've seen it! //  
  
Omi continued typing, fingers working furiously to recover any sites or information he may have acquired over the past few months. The blond kept searching till he came across an article that was published only a few months ago. Omi worked away again, zooming in on the picture; he worked closer and closer, zooming in on the man's ring. Squinting his eyes, straining to make out what the symbol was on the man's ring; he cleared the resolution, making the image clearer. Bright blue eyes widened at the symbol on the ring, remembering what Kuroko had said about that specific trademark.  
  
// I knew I saw that symbol before!! He has to be the one!! //  
  
Omi hastily congratulated himself, grabbed the canister and raced upstairs to the others. He almost pounced Aya; the redhead taken completely by surprise by the sudden happiness in the younger member's eyes.  
  
"I know who took Youji-kun!!!" A slight surprised showed in Aya's eyes, grabbing Omi's shoulders, staring down at the boy.  
  
"Who? Where?"  
  
"There was a company, recently established as one of the top ten. The guy who owns that company has this exact symbol as his logo! Akagawa is still alive!!!" Omi pointed the mark on the bottom of the canister, dragging the redhead downstairs to show him the work he had done on the computer. Omi showed Aya the ring the man was wearing and the symbol on it.  
  
"See - Akagawa isn't dead, as Kuroko-kun says. He has Youji-kun, I'm sure of it!"  
  
"Good work - we need to find out where he's holding Youji, though."  
  
"Simple, if we can get into the main control room, we might be able to see where he's keeping Youji-kun... if, he's in that building." Omi felt Aya lightly patted him on the shoulder; Omi smiled to himself, glad to be acknowledged just a little.  
  
"I'll go inform Ken-kun and Kuroko-kun!" Before Aya could stop the blond, Omi had already gotten out of his chair and up the stairs. Aya let out a sigh, burying his face in his hand. He silently counted down in his head.  
  
// 6...5...4...3...2...1... //  
  
"OH MY GOD!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" Aya let out another sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. He had slight suspicions about Kuroko's teasing on Ken, but he never really investigated it till he had somewhat caught them in the act. That - was quite a while ago. Omi raced down the stairs, face red from nose to ears; he threw himself on the couch, burying his face in his arms and started to cry a little. Kuroko came down the spiral stairs after a few minutes, running a hand through his hair.  
  
"Geeze... Omi?" Aya nodded off to the sofa, before passing by the dark blond, mumbling a good luck to him. Kuroko sighed, going over to where Omi was face down on the couch, his tears sounded lightly through the room. Kuroko seated himself on the edge, his back towards the younger blond; he remained silent, running his hand through his hair again.  
  
"Oi! You're not going to mope there all day, are you?" Omi shook his head, but never raised it once. Kuroko placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, but Omi didn't flinch.  
  
"If you're not, why don't you move? Didn't you say you found where Youji was?" Omi nodded his head, but he still didn't look up from his position.  
  
"Look - back there... I know it was a little bad, but some time in your life, you're bound to get exposed to that kind of stuff. There are worse things then what Ken and I did... beside, if you're going to stay there and mope..." Kuroko gently sat Omi up, getting the boy to look at him. Omi still had tears streaming down his face as he looked up at the dark blond; he noticed Kuroko had a warm smile on his face.  
  
"Besides... you're the only one qualified enough to find Youji. If you refuse to move just because of something that small... you're going to lose a friend, and it's not me or Ken." Omi felt his lip quiver a little, before throwing himself at the older blond, crying on his shoulder.  
  
"Oi, oi!!"  
  
"... Arigatou - baka!" Kuroko closed his mouth, letting out a sigh as he hugged Omi back, letting this one go just this once.  
  
"You're welcome..."  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji slowly opened his eyes, finding his vision still a little blurry. He felt his head spin just a little, being too unstable to fully take in his surroundings. Youji tried to reach his hand to his head, feeling something cold against his wrist restraining the movement. He became more awake, pulling against the chain on the wall. He stopped, seeing as it only made the shackle dig into his skin; Youji looked down at the ground, his vision still a little blurry to see every detail. He moved his legs, finding no restrictions on them; he checked over himself, finding nothing harmed or missing - with the exception of his watch.  
  
// At least I'm okay - but for how long? //  
  
Youji turned his head, hearing footsteps sounding in the shadows. He had a bad feeling he knew who it was, and hoped it wasn't.  
  
"It's been so long... Youji." Jade green eyes widened at recognition of the voice. Akagawa stepped into what little was provided, dressed plainly in a black semi-formal suit, long black hair curling slightly under the chin. Youji subconsciously struggled against the chains, the edge of the cold metal beginning to dig into his skin. He felt a hand on his chin, forcing him to look at Akagawa.  
  
"It won't do to have you injured now..." Youji narrowed his eyes at the smirk, pulling his face out of the other man's hand. The raven-head snickered, a finger tracing the side of Youji's face.  
  
"Still the same as always - at least this time you don't have Kuroko to save you."  
  
"What have you done with Takara!!" Akagawa grinned at the anger and hate mixed with the concern in the blond's voice, turning his back to him.  
  
"Though she is one of my intended captures - I rather much have you, but I thank you for saving me the trouble of catching you."  
  
"If you dare harm her in anyway..."  
  
"Relax - she is actually going to be quite useful to me, when she has been properly attended to." Akagawa turned his head around to face Youji, a hidden meaning behind the smirk he gave. Youji's eyes widened, confused and afraid of what the other man had in mind for the small brunette. Youji pulled against his chains, ignoring the pain digging into his wrists.  
  
"Now, now... keep that up and I might have to put you behind bars... and that would be a pitiful sight." Youji stopped, beginning to feel his skin breaking from the edge. Akagawa gave him one last look before disappearing back into the shadows, leaving Youji with nothing, but the dark and silence. Youji closed his eyes, trying to prevent his tears from escaping, feeling frustrated with himself.  
  
// I shouldn't have gone off... I didn't even tell Ran... //  
  
Youji felt his tears stream down his face, his hands tightening into fists at his actions.  
  
// I just wanted to find Takara safe, I... //  
  
Youji relaxed his hands, opening his eyes to stare up at the only source of light he had. He noticed a small opening at the top, not sure where he was that would allow such a structure in the building. The light shining down was bright and he couldn't tell whether it was the sun or artificial lighting.  
  
// Ran... I'm sorry I didn't tell you... //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Blah... getting a little angsty, gomen. But! It will be happier at the end... kind of...? (I think...) Though we are getting close to the end... maybe a few more chapts left and then... dah, dah! The sequel!! (Yeah, I do have a sequel planned for this one!! .)  
  
Anyways, thank minna-san for reading... pls review!!! Thank you!!!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	19. Chpater 18: Secrets of the Best and of t...

Eheehee... *sweatdrop* Super, super, super long chapt this time!! ^^;; No idea what I was doing - my mind kind of just wondered and dah! Long chapt!!  
  
Eh... Enjoy, minna-san!!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai/yaoi  
  
Pairings: Aya + Youji  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
They swiftly moved in the shadows, quickly ducking through the side entrances of the building. Aya and Kuroko silently raced down the halls, stopping just before corners and turns, waiting against the wall. Aya sent glares at the dark blond, Kuroko ignoring the redhead. Despite obvious dislike, they ran side by side, Aya glaring at Kuroko and Kuroko ignoring him.  
  
"I don't see why you insist on coming along?!" Aya hissed, keeping his eyes ahead of him.  
  
"I have just as every right as you to save my baby cousin!! Don't think so lightly of me!!!" Kuroko whispered, glancing at the redhead briefly before looking in front of him. Aya hummed his response, and continued on running. They turned around a corner, coming face up with maybe eight or more guards, they couldn't tell. The fight began almost immediately; the men readied to open fire on the two. Kuroko flashed the right side of his trench coat, reaching inside to grab his staff, the object elongating from it original size. Aya pulled his katana from its sheath, the two avoiding the bullets and striking down the guards.  
  
// I hate to admit this... but no matter how much I hate - him!! //  
  
A guard came up behind Aya; the redhead turned around to strike, but a guard in front of him pulled away his focus. Kuroko swung his staff at the man behind Aya, the two now fighting back to back.  
  
// He thinks almost like me... it's strange, but - we make a pretty good team. //  
  
Kuroko glanced briefly at Aya, seeing the redhead nod his head slightly. The two stood against each other for a minute more, before charging out at the remaining guards surrounding them. Aya struck between two guards, both falling to the ground; Kuroko jumped and dodged, using the end of his staff to hit the vulnerable points of the men in front of him.  
  
// Is it a gift or curse, to have such qualities of the best - but be only adored by people for the worst qualities? //  
  
Aya took down the last man standing in his way, sheathing his katana. He left himself with just his thoughts, not noticing a sudden appearance of a guard passing by.  
  
"Aya! Watch out!!" Kuroko stepped in front of Aya, pushing the redhead down to the floor as the guard shot his gun. Aya heard the dark blond gasp in pain, hearing a sound from the guard. Aya stood up to his feet, seeing the guard had fallen from Kuroko's staff; he also noticed the dark blond holding his right shoulder, hearing his heavy breathing.  
  
"Kuroko?"  
  
"BAKA!! You don't just stand there and leave yourself wide open!!" Aya listened and watched as Kuroko ranted on about being on guard and being alert; occasionally the dark blond would wince from the pain. Aya sighed, going over to check over the older man's wound; there was an exit wound, so that was good news.  
  
"Doesn't look too bad, but you should cover it up so it doesn't get infected."  
  
"No kidding! And who's fault is this now?!" Aya ignored him; Kuroko pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, handing it to the redhead to tie up around his shoulder. Aya took it, and carefully wrapped it around the wound.  
  
// His bad qualities, habits - theirs... it attracts people to them. Whether they know this or not, but... //  
  
Kuroko winced slightly, yelling at Aya to be more gentle and more slow with the basic dressing. Annoyed, Aya punched his lightly near the wound on his shoulders, getting an attempted muffle yell. The redhead felt himself, get hit on the head by the taller man.  
  
// Kuroko and Youji... both annoy me to all ends - but... it's because of that... //  
  
Aya yelled slightly at Kuroko, the dark blond returning the argument back. It wasn't until Ken or Omi had radioed them that they finally stopped arguing, both giving each other a glare. Once Kuroko's wound was tended to the best it could be, they ran off again, trying to find where in the building Akagawa might have Youji.  
  
// It's because of that... they are the closet people in my heart... //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Omi and Ken ducked into the security room, Ken standing guard at the door, just in case. Omi looked over the system of the building, then quickly went to work, checking each room.  
  
"Anything?" Ken asked, briefly looking over his shoulder at the young blond searching through the cameras. Omi shook his head.  
  
"Iie." Ken hummed, looking back at the door, standing ready for any guard that might come by.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Kuroko slowed to a stop, standing in the middle of the hall and gazed up at the ceiling. Aya skidded to a stop, running back to pull the dark blond along.  
  
"OI! This is not a time to stop!!" Aya whispered, pulling on Kuroko's arm to urge him on; the older man stood there, still staring up at the ceiling. Aya stood a little off his heels, trying to get a glimpse of the dark blond's eyes. The redhead stepped back down, stepping back slightly from what he saw.  
  
// Kuroko's eyes... they're flashing - that can't be good! //  
  
The two stood absolutely still for several minutes, Kuroko staring up at the ceiling and Aya waiting to see what would happen. Suddenly, Kuroko blinked, his eyes returning back to dark, dark green and he ran ahead. Aya followed after him, catching up to the older man.  
  
"Oi! What the hell is going on with you??"  
  
"He's keeping Youji at the top!!" Kuroko replied, never once tearing his eyes away from the path in front of him. Aya blinked, following behind the dark blond towards an elevator.  
  
"The top? You mean the top floor?"  
  
"Near the roof - I'm sure!"  
  
"How can you tell?!" Kuroko didn't answer; they reached the elevator, glad to see it was on their floor and rode it up to the top. A heavy silence passed between them, till Kuroko spoke up.  
  
"Because it's what Youji's seeing..."  
  
"...Eh?"  
  
"Youji and I - I don't how, but we can see what the other sees - but only in trauma or highly emotional times." Aya answered unsteadily, but listened contently to what Kuroko was saying.  
  
"Just now - Youji must have done it. He was staring up at an opening with light coming through. He can't tell, but that was real sunlight shining through."  
  
"Demo - it's dark now."  
  
"Sometimes it's a delayed reaction - he must have seen it during the day and it only came to me now." Aya let out another uneasy reply, shaky at this sudden information he was learning about the two cousins. Kuroko pulled out his staff when the lift was only a few floors below the roof; Aya readied his katana, waiting for the doors to open.  
  
The lift dinged and the two quickly stepped out, hiding behind the nearest corner they came across. They both glanced down the hall, before glancing at each, nodding to show they both approved. Aya moved first, Kuroko following behind him as they raced down the surprisingly empty hall.  
  
"I don't like this..." Kuroko whispered so softly, he was barely audible.  
  
"Neither do I." Aya replied in the same volume level. The two continued in silence, till they came across a door at the very end of the hall. They stood there for a few minutes, before Aya finally decided to try the handle; he reached a hand out carefully, turning the knob and slowly, at first, inched the door open, before sending it open by force. They stepped into the room, both in defense positions, readied to switch to offense if needed.  
  
The room was empty...  
  
"Nani?" Both replied in unison, the door closed shut behind them, the lights turning on in the room. Aya and Kuroko were blinded for a moment, hearing someone clapping their hands not too far away in front of them.  
  
"Bravo - I command you Kuroko on your skills; you too, Aya - iie, Ran-san."  
  
"Akagawa!!!" Kuroko hissed, glaring at the man standing on a raised platform in front of them. The younger man grinned at him, placing a hand on his chin in observation. Aya's vision finally adjusted to the lights, staring up at the man who had taken Youji and Takara.  
  
"Kisama - where's Youji? And Takara!!"  
  
"You want them..." Akagawa snapped his fingers, a trap door opening in front them. A platform from below raised up, revealing Youji, unconscious but overall unharmed. Kuroko ran to where Youji was lying, carefully cradling the younger blond in his arms.  
  
"Oi, Youji!! Youji!!!" He shook Youji a little, the lighter blond making a small noise, slowly opening his eyes. Light forest green stared up into dark, dark green eyes.  
  
"Kuro...ko?"  
  
"Yokatta, you're alright." Aya looked up at Akagawa, katana still ready in hand, but he wasn't going to strike now - not until they knew where Takara was.  
  
"And Takara?!"  
  
"I'm afraid - her, I'm not giving back!"  
  
"Nani?" Aya answered, feeling his hands shaking a little. Youji looked up from his cousin's arms, staring at the dark-haired man with worried eyes. He wasn't sure what Akagawa had in mind for Takara, but he knew it wouldn't be good.  
  
"Naze ka?" Akagawa gave the redhead a smudge look, stepping back a little on the platform.  
  
"She didn't know of this, but her parents worked for me..." Akagawa reached behind him, pressing a button he felt for with his fingers. The wall to the right slide open, a guard walking in pulling Takara along with him; the young brunette cried from fright, her legs too weak from the explosion to hurt the man holding her. Akagawa motioned for the guard to set her down near him and he did. Takara sat on the floor, unable to stand up to her feet and move away.  
  
"It's best if you hear this too, Takara..." The brunette looked up at him, frightful tears streaming down her face. Aya moved to strike, but stopped seeing Akagawa with his own sword at Takara's throat; if he moved any more, Takara would be dead. Aya knew he couldn't move, not with being too far away to make it there in time to save her.  
  
"Let's continue - Takara's parents worked separately for me - that's is, till they met each other... Her mother worked as scientist for me, her father - an assassin just like you." Takara's eyes widened at the fact of her father being an assassin. She looked over to Aya and Youji, unsure of the last part the dark-haired man had said. Youji looked upset, turning his face away from Takara's gaze; Aya dropped his head down, showing her the case of his katana.  
  
"U'so... Usotsuki!!!" Takara screamed, her tears falling harder down her face. Akagawa looked at her with a smirk.  
  
"It's all true - in fact, when they had you, they were more distracted then ever. That bomb that happened a while ago - they were suppose to leave you with that bomb, ensuring an instant death!!" Youji looked back, seeing the same shock in Takara's wide brown eyes.  
  
"My - death?"  
  
"Instead, they took your place and died, allowing you to live!! I lost two good employers that way... And now..." Akagawa kneeled down in front her, his sword still at her throat. Takara whimpered in fear, tilting her head back away from the blade and the look the man was giving her.  
  
"Now, it's time for you to pay for the act of your parents." Akagawa stood back to his feet, letting his blade slide from his hand and drop to the floor, letting it leave Takara's throat.  
  
"You will be trained and take your father's place - I've already inputted the data necessary to allow this..."  
  
"KISAMA!!!" Aya ran full head on, katana posed to strike the man in the gut. Akagawa simply stepped aside, letting the redhead fly right past him. He walked off the platform and headed for the door. Kuroko stood to his feet, staff out in hand and cut Akagawa off.  
  
"Kuroko - you may have taken me by surprise last time, but this time you won't be so lucky." Kuroko moved, maneuvering to strike his staff from the side; Akagawa caught it, using his own force on the staff to hit Kuroko instead of being hit. The dark blond gasped, feeling himself get thrown back by the younger man.  
  
"It's been enjoyable, but I'm afraid I have a tight schedule..." Akagawa paused, eyes going slightly wide and his breath becoming slightly ragged. He shakily reached a hand to hold the arrow struck through his chest, feeling the blood spilling from the wound - it was too close to his heart. Youji stared in shock, before looking behind the raven-head to the door, finding it open and Ken and Omi standing there, Omi's crossbow in hand.  
  
"Yo! Sorry we're a little late!!" Ken moved, making a fist to release his claw; he struck at Akagawa's back, making sure that this man was done for good. Akagawa let out a ghastly yell, feeling the blades in his back. Ken pulled his claws out, the man falling to the ground, his blood pooling around him.  
  
"Kuroko!!" Ken raced over to the unconscious blond, carefully taking the man in his arms, shaking him a little.  
  
"Oi, Kuroko! Can you hear me? Kuroko??" Before Ken could say another word, Kuroko had wrapped his arms around the brunet, pulling him down for a quick kiss. Kuroko pulled back, running his tongue over his mouth.  
  
"About time you came..." Ken's face was bright red at the action - not because of embarrassment that it was done, but embarrassed that it was done in front of everyone else. Youji smiled slightly at the scene, carefully trying to stand to his feet, but his leg was weak from his imprisonment, making him fall to the ground.  
  
"Youji-ni-chan!!" Youji looked to the platform, eyeing Takara still on the floor, arms trying to reach out to him. With neither one able to move, it was all they could do. Takara froze, gazing up at Aya, who had his katana raised above his head. It wouldn't have been frightening to Takara, but she knew he was aiming at her.  
  
"Aya?" Youji started, but the redhead never diverted his attention. Kuroko was still in Ken's arms, the two glancing over at the scene; Omi stood at the door, his face for the first time expressionless.  
  
"Aya!!" Youji panicked, seeing Aya raise his sword higher, staring down at Takara with blank eyes. The young brunette began crying again, trying to crawl away from the towering redhead.  
  
"DAME!!"  
  
"She's has to die, Youji! We can't let her live!!"  
  
"Doushite??" Youji questioned, tears beginning to stream down his face.  
  
"You heard what Akagawa said - if that data is ever triggered, she'll just pass on what her father was started on. It is better if she dies now!!" Aya raised his sword impossibly high above his head, sharply bringing it down. Kuroko and Ken both closed their eyes, Ken burying his face into the dark blond's shoulder; Omi turned his head away, not wanting to face to the kill. Youji placed his hands over his mouth, tears falling hard, but it didn't prevent him from yelling out.  
  
"YAMARU!!!!" The sound of metal hitting stone sounded through the room. Takara stared up with wide eyes at the redhead hovering over her, leaning on his sword that was struck into the ground behind her, leaving her untouched. Youji looked up at the platform, seeing that Aya had missed Takara; the redhead pulled his sword out, placing in back into his case and turned away from the little girl.  
  
Youji somehow managed to stand to his feet, shakily making his way over to Takara. He collapse once he got near to her, wrapping his arms protectively around her. Takara began to cry out loud, reaching to hug Youji around the waist.  
  
"Youji-ni-chan!!!"  
  
"Takara..." Youji held on to her, tight, briefly looking up at Aya to see the redhead was glancing at them. Youji silently thanked Aya, turning his attention back to Takara. Aya hummed to himself, turning his back to them again.  
  
Ken helped Kuroko stand to his feet, being careful of the dark blond's wounded shoulder; Omi moved in a little, coming up near the two, watching with a slight smile as Youji held Takara.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Cha!!! *dies* Loonnnggg chapt!! Well, sorry for making ppl read so much (hopefully it's day time and not nighttime). Anyways - Koneko is not quite done yet, but almost is... now, it's either a happy ending, or a sad ending - depends on how you look at it; but I think it's kind of a sad ending to Koneko! *starts tearing* Even the sequel "Neko" is kind of happier.  
  
Anyways!! Pls review!! And BIG ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!! For reading!!  
  
Till next time!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	20. Chapter 19: A Gentle Surprise: Aishiteru

Oops... too long? ^^;;  
  
Anyways, I'll keep this short, near the finally chapts of Koneko and soon to the next story *dies* Enjoy!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai  
  
Pairings: Youji + Aya, Kuroko(OC) + Ken (Don't know, just kind of happened)  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Aya sat in his room, sitting cross-legged on his bed, as he stared out the close window, watching the rain pouring down on the glass. He ran over in his mind the events that had happen not too long ago, letting out a sigh. He stared down at Ne-chan, lying comfortable in his lap; the kitten purring softly at the hand stroking his back. Ne-chan stretched his body out, turning on to his backside to let the redhead rub his tummy. Aya smiled slightly at the kitten, gently scratching Ne-chan's stomach, through warm, soft fur.  
  
He heard the door to his room open with a slight creak, not once questioning who was entering – he had a hunch, he knew who it was.  
  
"Do you always sit in the dark like this?" Youji asked, quietly closing the door behind him and leaned against it. Aya stopped petting Ne-chan, the kitten's bright green eyes staring up at him curiously.  
  
"Iie... I was thinking of going to sleep soon."  
  
"...Ah." Was the small reply. A silence fell between them, Aya staring out the window, and Youji leaning against the door. Youji took in a deep breath, moving away from the door and over to where the redhead was sitting on the bed. He carefully seated himself on the edge, eyeing Ne-chan laid back on Aya's lap.  
  
"So this is where you got to, Ne-chan!" The kitten turned himself around, meowing happily and jumped off of Aya's lap and into Youji's arms. The blond snickered, petting Ne-chan on the head; Aya watched with a small smile, observing the small happiness Ne-chan could bring to Youji.  
  
"Jiro and Takara are asleep now – Tomorrow I'm going to find a place for them to stay, till they're adopted." Youji stated, standing up to his feet with Ne-chan in his arms. He mumbled a faint good night and headed for the door; he felt a hand grab his wrist lightly.  
  
"Stay..." Light forest green eyes widened slightly, turning back to gaze at the redhead, holding his wrist.  
  
"I can't..."  
  
"Where will you sleep? On the floor?" Youji stared a little bit surprised by Aya's response, unsure of how to answer the question. Aya repositioned himself, now sitting on the edge on his bed, glancing up at the older man. He continued speaking.  
  
"You gave your bed to Takara and Jiro, right?" Youji nodded his head, feeling the redhead release his wrist, though he didn't move. The two remained silent again; finally, Youji let Ne-chan down, letting the kitten find a place somewhere in Aya's room to sleep. Aya stood to his feet, tenderly wiping away the tears that began to form in the blond's eyes.  
  
"Ay – Ran... I'm sorry."  
  
"I'm the one, who should be sorry..." Ran moved stray strands of blond hair away from Youji's face, gently cupping one cheek. He leaned in, carefully capturing Youji's lips in a light kiss. Unsure where to place his hands, Youji placed them on the redhead's shoulders, feeling Ran's arms reach around him to hold him.  
  
Beginning to feel a little more daring, Youji opened his mouth slightly, Ran, taking the hint, reached his tongue into the older man's mouth, pulling him closer. Youji dropped his hands from Ran's shoulders; timidly reaching his arms around the redhead's waist, feeling one of the shorter man's hands gently grasp his hair.  
  
Ran started to step back, but did not release his hold on Youji, or break off the kiss; he pulled the blond back with him, till he felt the edge of his bed. Ran sat down slowly, sensing Youji's slight reluctance when the blond pulled away from the kiss; he reached for the blond's arms, gently pulling him down on to his lap. Youji blushed, turning his head away from Ran's face in front; he felt a tender hand touch his cheek, getting him to look back at the redhead – a warm glow showed in amethyst eyes.  
  
"We don't have to, if you don't want it..." Youji shook his head, resting his chin on Ran's shoulder.  
  
"Iie – I'm just trying to forget... what he did to me." Ran reached his arms around Youji in a protective hold, gently nuzzling his nose at the base of the blond's neck.  
  
"I won't let it happen – not to you..." Youji pulled back to stare into the younger man's eyes; they stared for several minutes, before Youji leaned in for a kiss, feeling Ran deepen it. Ran fell back, pulling Youji down with him, but never breaking the kiss; Youji could feel one hand carefully making it way under his shirt, light touches feathering his back.  
  
"OI!! YAMATE KUDASAI!!" Both Ran and Youji paused, glancing at the wall to the right. They both recognized the voice as Ken's, but it was the only voice they heard. The two waited a moment, hearing a slight thud from the other side and Ken's yelp being cut off.  
  
"Iya – Kuro-chan is so aggressive." Youji commented, letting out a sigh at his cousin's behavior. Ran nodded his head, still staring at the wall, before turning back to continue what he had started with the blond currently lying on top of him.  
  
Ne-chan found a spot on the chair in Ran's room, turning around in a circle once, before laying down and curling into a tight ball. He listened to the sounds and the noises, before drifting into his night sleep.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji walked through the shop door, first greeted by Ne-chan, then by Omi. Kuroko had taken Ken off somewhere about an hour or so ago, but where he wouldn't say. Aya stood in the back, greeting Youji when he was near enough. Aya reached a hand to the older blond's face, gently wiping away the tears threatening to flow.  
  
"...Gomen."  
  
"I take it, you found a place then?" Youji nodded his head, catching Ne- chan in his arms when the kitten jumped at him.  
  
"The family that was going to adopt them couldn't get their passports validated because of the incident."  
  
"That's good, isn't it? That's means Takara and Jiro are still going to be here, in Japan?" Youji nodded his head again, putting Ne-chan down on the counter in front of him. The kitten meowed curiously, staring after Youji as the blond disappeared through the back and upstairs. Aya watched as well, reaching a hand out to touch Ne-chan on the head, the kitten mewing in response to the silent statement.  
  
// Youji... //  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Youji laid on his side, staring out into the darkness. He was alone right now – Aya had gone out on a mission; surprisingly enough, Kuroko asked if he could try it as well. Youji sighed, burying his face into his pillow; he glanced at Ne-chan asleep by his pillow, tail curled slightly around his body. Youji smiled, gently poking once at the kitten; Ne-chan stirred a little, shifting himself just a little bit more.  
  
Youji let out a content sigh, letting his eyelids fall shut. He began to recall moments from the night before, feeling his face warm up a little bit at the memory. He quickly pushed the thoughts away temporarily, not wanting it to have an effect on him right at the moment. Youji waited till sleep laid heavily upon him, before fully relaxing himself to the night.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
Kuroko laid on his stomach, head propped up on his elbows, staring down at a sleeping Ken with a slight smile. He and Aya managed to finish the mission earlier then expected; it was his first time experiencing what Youji did as an assassin – and he found he quite liked the rush that came with it.  
  
Kuroko watched Ken's sleeping face, one hand carefully brushing away brown bangs from the younger man's face. Tempted, he leaned down and captured Ken's mouth with his, one hand drifting below the covers, down the brunet's body. He felt a hand stop his tracks.  
  
"You already had your fun – let me sleep!!"  
  
"Iie..." Ken opened his eyes, using the back of his hand to rub away the sleep. Kuroko recaptured Ken's mouth, using Ken's half-awake state to his advantage and level himself on top of the brunet. Ken didn't complain much; he reached one hand for dark blond's hair, gently jerking Kuroko's head back.  
  
"Up for something new, Ken?"  
  
"No!" Came the firm reply, before Ken tenderly suckled Kuroko's neck. The dark blond's breathing quickened slightly, his hand slowly running down Ken's body. Kuroko stopped Ken, ceasing his own action.  
  
"Kuroko?"  
  
"Hush! Listen." The two paused as they listened for something; soon they could hear faint moans and maybe what sounded like a name. Kuroko smiled, knowing exactly who it was.  
  
"These walls – are really too thin."  
  
"I don't mind..." Ken gazed up at Kuroko, a very warm look in the dark blond's eyes. He pulled Kuroko down for a kiss, letting them continue with what they started.  
  
~~~~~~*~~~~~~  
  
The morning sunlight beat down lightly through the window, partially closed curtains, barely shadowing the figure asleep on the bed. Youji moaned, placing an arm over his head to keep the light off his eyes. He gave up, slowly opening his eyes to the morning; he sat up with a start, noticing he was alone.  
  
Youji searched around the room with his eyes, but it was empty with the exception of him. He looked at the clock on the side table, and couldn't help but feel a little hurt.  
  
// Why didn't Ran wake me up? //  
  
Youji let out a sigh, staring at the end of the bed. After a few minutes of thought, he decided to actually get out of bed and get dress to go down to the shop. He put on a causal outfit, briefly running a brush through his hair to untangle some of the knots. Once satisfied with the job, he headed down to the shop.  
  
"Ohaiyo..."  
  
"Ohaiyo, Youji-kun!!" Omi beamed, since today being a weekend, able to stay in the shop for the whole day. Youji smiled at the energy of the younger blond, searching around the shop. He found Kuroko and Ken in a corner, Ken attempting to show Kuroko how to arrange the flowers. Kuroko only shrugged his shoulders, saying flowers just weren't his strong suit. Ken gave him a narrow look, before turning his attention away and walked off; Kuroko stared after him, grabbing the brunet around the waist to stop him from moving.  
  
Youji laughed at Ken trying to remove himself from the dark blond's hold, thrashing about in Kuroko's arms. Youji shook his head and sighed, finishing looking around the shop. His smiled disappeared, a slight disappointing look on his face.  
  
"Oi, Youji? Daijoubu?" Kuroko asked, still holding Ken around the waist, the brunet still trying to get away. Youji shook his head, feeling his older cousin's hand on his head.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Where's R- Aya?"  
  
"Ran? Don't know. He was here before the shop opened, but he left before anyone could say something." Youji made a small noise of understanding, wondering if Ran had gone to visit his sister at the hospital. The blond sighed, going over to take a place behind unoccupied work station, seating himself down. Kuroko stared after the lighter blond, letting a hum; Ken stopped thrashing, looking at Youji as well.  
  
"You think he'll be okay?" Ken asked, standing to his full height with the dark blond's arm still around him.  
  
"Youji is pretty sensitive about this things – he'll be alright." Kuroko positioned himself behind Ken, wrapping both arms around the shorter man's waist. He rested his face against Ken's neck, tenderly kisses the exposed flesh. Ken's face turned red, he began squirming in Kuroko's brace, trying to break free.  
  
"Oi! Cut it out!!" He whispered, not wanting to catch anyone's attention. Kuroko didn't stop.  
  
"Oi, oi, oi!! Not in the shop?!"  
  
"Fine..." Kuroko leaned over and placed his mouth over Ken's, pulling the reluctant brunet into the back without anyone's noticed.  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Quarter past one; Youji stared up at the clock for the nth time today. Ran still hadn't showed up. Youji sighed, trying to keep back slight tears of disappointment and loneliness. He felt a gentle hand touch the side of his head, gently pulling him towards their chest. Youji looked up at Kuroko, and began crying into the dark blond's chest.  
  
"Shh... it's okay Youji. I'm sure – Ay... Ran, has his reasons." Omi glanced at the two cousins, ceasing his work momentarily. He watched Kuroko tenderly hold Youji, while the lighter blond cried. The sound of the bell dinged, turning everyone's attention to the door; Youji felt a smile form on his face, standing up to his feet to greet the person.  
  
"Okaeri, Aya." The redhead pulled off his jacket, folding it over his arm.  
  
"Shouldn't I speak first?" He teased; Youji blushed a little, bowing his head down. Aya smiled a little, one hand reaching to hold the back of Youji's skull; he placed a gentle kiss on the taller man's forehead.  
  
"Tadaima." Omi dropped the flowers he was holding on the table, staring in shock at the scene in front of him. Kuroko patted the boy on the head, saying it was alright and restated that eventually he will be exposed to things like that. Omi sighed, but put on a smile either way.  
  
"I have a surprise for you, Youji." Aya explained, pulling back from the blond; Youji blinked, wondering if that was why the redhead had been out so long. Aya nodded, heading back to the door; he held it open, nodding his head to whoever was outside. A small hand held on to the handle of the door, Aya reaching his hand out to help the girl come around the corner. Youji felt his heart jump at the little girl stepping into the shop slowly. Wide brown eyes looked up at him, a wide smile on her face.  
  
"Masaka..."  
  
"Youji-nii-chan!!" Youji kneeled in front of Takara, giving her a huge hug. The brunette hugged him back, laughing sweetly with joy; Youji stood up to his feet, picking Takara up with him. He turned Aya, holding her in his arms.  
  
"Aya – Ran..."  
  
"It's only half of the surprise." Youji blinked. Ran searched through his jacket, finding some papers; he shifted through each of them, handing one of them to Youji. The blond took the paper, reading through the contexts. His eyes widened in surprise, jaw slacking a little, looking up at Ran. The redhead had a slight smile on his face.  
  
"Arigatou!!" Youji hugged Ran with one arm, complete joy on his face. Ran hugged him back, also partially embracing Takara as well; the young brunette smiled, reaching to hug the redhead around the neck.  
  
"Takara – is now under your care, Youji."  
  
"Arigatou, Ran – I..." Youji paused, placing a hand over his mouth; everyone stared at him, wondering what he wanted to say. Kuroko knew; he came up behind Youji, whispering in the younger blond's ear.  
  
"Just say it Youji – it doesn't matter who hears it." Youji removed his hand, swallowing his breath as he looked back at Ran's face.  
  
"Ran, I... aishiteru..." Youji blushed as he said it; Ran blinked in surprise. Omi gaped, Kuroko going over to gently shut the boy's mouth, saying he'll catch flies if he keeps it open.  
  
"Aishiteru..." Ran replied, his face soften at the word. After they all had settled in, Ran explained the troubles he went to find where Youji had place Takara and Jiro. The mention of Jiro made Youji curious about the boy's well being; Ran explained that he was going to adopt Jiro as his younger brother. Youji stared in surprise, Omi, Kuroko and now Ken being busy with Takara.  
  
Ran nodded his head; Ne-chan jumped up on the couch, mewing to get their attention. Ran glared down at the kitten on the sofa, receiving a similar look from the green eyes of the kitten. Ran gave up, saying he forfeited the rule about Ne-chan being on the furniture. Youji smiled, Ne-chan meowing happily at the change of rules.  
  
// Domo arigatou, Ran! //  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Ehee. Told ya all it was long – well, at least you made it to the bottom (next chapt won't be as long, hopefully *sweatdrop*). Anyways, pls R&R – would really much appreciate it! Thanks!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12) 


	21. Chapter 20: Sayonara

Yoho! Minna-san! Managed a shorter chapt this time!! ^^;; Well, we are getting very close to finishing this fic off and then... dah da! Sequel! (Yes, I know – I'm carrying on with this too long...) Anyways, let's not waste time!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai/some spoilers for ending  
  
Pairing: Aya + Youji, Kuroko(OC) + Ken  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Youji quietly snuck into his room, looking down at Ne-chan and placed a finger over his mouth, indicating silence. Ne-chan nodded, carefully creeping along side with Youji. Youji reached his bed, eyeing Takara and Jiro still sleeping, tucked snuggly under the covers. He slowly sat down on the edge, trying not wake the two up.  
  
After a few minutes, Jiro started to stir, followed by Takara's faint whimpers. They both woke up to the morning sun and Youji gazing down at them with a smile.  
  
"Ohaiyo, Jiro-kun, Takara-chan."  
  
"Ah! Ohaiyo, Youji-ni-chan!!" Takara exclaimed, Ne-chan mewing and jumping on to her lap; she laughed, hugging the kitten tightly.  
  
"Ohaiyo, Youji-chan." Jiro managed out sleepily, rubbing his eyes. Youji smiled, patting both of them on the head lightly. Since Takara and Jiro were living with them, Youji had given his room to the two kids, since he seemed to be sleeping in Ran's room more often.  
  
"Youji-chan, where's O-ni-chan?" Jiro asked, now finally fully awake. Takara nodded as well, asking for Ran. Youji explained he was downstairs working right now, down in the shop.  
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
"Because most kids wake up to see both their parents, right?" Takara asked; Youji blinked, confused about the parent part. Takara and Jiro explained.  
  
"Jiro-chan and I see you and Ran-chan as our parents..."  
  
"Hai, even though you own us separately, we'll treat you like parents!" Jiro finished off; Youji laughed lightly at how cute the two were in calling him and Ran as their 'parents'. Youji decided to humor with them just a little.  
  
"Demo, both Ran-chan and I are guys." Takara and Jiro tilted their heads, giving a 'so what?' look. Youji explained deeper.  
  
"Well, usually you have a mother and a father, but if both Ran-chan and I are guys, who is the mother?"  
  
"You!" Both Takara and Jiro said, both pointing at Youji; the blond stared at them with wide eyes, finding his humor being backfired on him.  
  
"Me? Nan da?"  
  
"Because Youji-ni-chan acts like a mother. You care like a mother and you're soft and gentle. You teach like a mother too." Takara explained, a very soft, happy smile on her face. Jiro nodded his head.  
  
"Hai, and O-ni-chan is a bit rougher, like a dad and the way he talks and teaches, it rough too." Youji laughed at his own backfired joke, absolutely adoring their perception of him and Ran as parental figures – and which roles of that unit. He stood up from the bed, staring down at the two with a smile.  
  
"Well come on, we need to get you two dressed."  
  
"Hai!!" Both Takara and Jiro answered, crawling out of bed. Jiro helped Takara down to her feet, supporting her all the way to a small trunk. Youji helped Takara dress, since she still had trouble with her legs; once the two were changed, they headed downstairs for breakfast, Jiro and Youji helping Takara down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Jiro saw a brief flash of red, knowing exactly who it was.  
  
"Ano, Youji-chan? I'll be right back."  
  
"Hai." Jiro nodded, running off to the shop area. He stood in the doorway, eyeing Ken and Omi setting up the shop for opening. He finally spotted the redhead, sitting behind the counter, opening the register for today. Jiro snuck quietly around the redhead, crouching low; he took in a deep breath, ready to make a loud noise to scare the redhead. Before he could make a sound, Ran spoke.  
  
"Ohaiyo, Jiro." The raven-head caught his breath, his loud noise ending up as splutters. Jiro pouted, moving into Ran's view.  
  
"Mou! How did you know I was there??" Ran smiled at the boy, gently patting him on the head.  
  
"I could hear you – if you want to surprise someone, you have to completely erase your presence."  
  
"Erase my presence?" Ran snickered slightly, taking Jiro around the shoulder.  
  
"Maybe when Youji and I find a school for you and Takara, we'll see about learning that, ne?" Ran suggested; Jiro looked up at him with a wide smile, his eyes full of expectation and joy. Ran smiled at the look, quickly finishing up his job with the register, then took the boy to the kitchen, where Youji had breakfast ready for him. Ran sat down with them, watching Youji help Takara with cutting her food, while Jiro simply gulped his food down.  
  
"Jiro-kun! Don't take such big bites! You could choke!!" Youji scolded lightly; Jiro coughed, a piece of food stuck in his throat, he grabbed his cup, trying to wash it down. Ran stood alert, in case the piece didn't come loose. Jiro set his cup down, taking in semi deep breaths; Youji crossed his arms over his chest, a slightly firm look on his face.  
  
"I told you, now slow down and take smaller bites – and if you take big bites, make sure you chew at least 26 times!" Jiro nodded his head, this time slowly eating his food and chewing more then 3 times at the most. Ran laughed slightly, seating himself back down on the chair.  
  
Ran loved them – he loved all of them. He loved Jiro as his little brother; Takara, he loved her too, but it was more of a little cousin type. And Youji – he loved Youji, and the blond gave the same feelings back. He felt more closer to a family, then he had ever had since his parent's death and his sister's incident.  
  
// Aya... I wish you could see this... it's so peaceful, so happy... Aya... please wake up soon. //  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Youji tucked Takara and Jiro into bed, giving them both a quick kiss on the forehead. Jiro was a little confused by Youji's outfit, but Takara understood what it meant.  
  
"Now you two go right to sleep, I promise Ran-chan and I will be back." Takara grabbed Youji's arm, pulling him down to whisper in his ear.  
  
"Where are you going tonight?" She asked softly so Jiro wouldn't hear. The brunette knew who Youji and Ran were in the night, she even Ken and Omi were the same. Youji whispered back to her.  
  
"Ran-chan's sister has been kidnapped – we're going to rescue her." Takara nodded slightly, before releasing Youji's arm and laid back down in bed. Jiro questioned her silently, but she shook her head. Youji gave one last good night, telling them to be good to Kuroko while he was away; they both nodded, both curling under the covers to sleep.  
  
Youji smiled, checking over them one last time before headed out the door. He turned off the lights, leaving his door open just a jar to let the hall light seep through. He let out sigh, trying to force away any negative thoughts about this final mission. He passed by Ken's room, seeing the door slightly open and hearing Kuroko's voice inside.  
  
"Where is this mission this time, Ken?"  
  
"Someplace called Ani Museum."  
  
"Ani? That's practically in the ocean!!" Youji came up to the side of the door, carefully peeking inside Ken's room. Kuroko was standing with his back towards the door, facing Ken who was preparing himself.  
  
"I'll be back, I promise Kuroko."  
  
"If you don't come back? Ken, I heard what Birman said – there's no one else to help you in this! Have you ever considered this might be the last mission you'll ever have??" Youji watched as Ken stood still, evidently thinking about what the dark blond had said. Finally, Ken let out a sigh, turning to move towards the door, ignoring the hurtful look in Kuroko's eyes. The dark blond's hands curled into fists, clutching his teeth shut. Kuroko moved, grabbing Ken's arm and spun him around; Ken opened his mouth, but Kuroko cut him off, placing his lips over the younger man's.  
  
Ken stood still in surprise at the action, eyes staring wide at the dark blond. Kuroko pulled back, his bangs covering half of his face, tears streaming down his cheeks.  
  
"Kuroko...?"  
  
"You better come back to me, Ken! I'll never forgive you if you die!!" Kuroko managed to get out through his tears; Ken smiled, reaching his arms around Kuroko to embrace him. He had never, since the first time Youji had introduced him, ever seen Kuroko cry so hard. Kuroko's shoulders were shaking, holding on to Ken as if this was the only chance he had – that he possibly did have.  
  
Youji felt a sad smile appear on his face, moving away from the door and headed downstairs. He couldn't help but feel Kuroko was right – there was the possibility that this would be their last mission. He knew his older cousin would get a double hit of depression – one for Ken, his lover and one for him, his baby cousin.  
  
// Dame da... this isn't time to think about those factors... Ran's imouto is important right now... //  
  
Though he tried, tears fell from his eyes; Youji leaned against the wall, wrapping his arms around him and cried.  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Cha – bottom... well as I said, this is probably the second or third to last chapter of Koneko – and after that, look around for Neko, the sequel!! *Dies from too many stories*  
  
Anyways, thank you all for reading – much appreciated all!!! Hope to see you all soon, till next time!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12)  
  
(Next Chapt: I Can Only Watch) 


	22. Final Chapter: I Can Only Watch

Yoho Minna-san!! I'm sad to say, this is the very last chapter of Koneko. *starts to tear* But! Sequel Neko will be in progress soon!! So be prepared!  
  
Anyways, enjoy the fic now! ^_^  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai hints, some slight spoilers of the ending  
  
Pairings: Ran + Youji / Kuroko(OC) + Ken  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Sakura watched in slight horror as the Ani began to crumble into the sea. Manx sat in the car with Aya-chan across her lap, watching the museum collapse into the water.  
  
"Aya-san..." Sakura managed out in a low voice, her tears falling down her face.  
  
"AYA-SAN!!!"  
  
~~*~~  
  
"KYAAAAAAAAA!!" Takara sat upright in bed, tears falling hard down her face. Jiro jolted awake, glancing at the young brunette with worried eyes.  
  
"Nani ka? Takara!"  
  
"Youji-nii-chan... Youji-nii-chan is..." Jiro carefully took Takara in his arms, trying to calm her down.  
  
"D-daijoubu, Takara. It's just a nightmare... it's okay."  
  
"OI! What is going on?!" Jiro looked up at the door, seeing Kuroko standing in the doorway, not looking at all happy. Jiro carefully let go of Takara, dropping his head down; Takara kept crying, repeating Youji's name over and over. Kuroko marched towards the bed, kneeling on the edge, definitely looking very upset.  
  
"Forget about it! It was only a dream!!"  
  
"Demo... Youji-nii-chan, Ran-chan..."  
  
"Urusai!! It was a dream – just a dream. Nothing more!!" Kuroko raised his voice a little, trying to force back his own tears. Jiro stared at the dark blond with wide eyes.  
  
// Did he – have the same dream? //  
  
Jiro replayed the dream still fresh in his mind. He saw Youji and Ran, and they were fighting against people; he saw Omi and Ken as well. Then suddenly, the surroundings started crumble; he saw Youji and Ran falling into darkness. Jiro closed his eyes, shaking his head to get the dream out.  
  
// Dame! It couldn't have happened... no... //  
  
Kuroko gathered Jiro and Takara in his arms, holding them tight. He repeated over and over and over that it was just a dream and nothing more.  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Kuroko sat in the shop, sitting on a stool behind a counter. The shop was closed, since none of the four Weiss members had come home; he worried a little, but kept any negative thoughts away. Jiro and Takara were on the floor, playing a hand-clapping game with each other.  
  
The sounds of someone knocking on the shutters, startled all of them, Kuroko jumping off his stool. He calmed down a little, before going over to open the shutters. He was surprised to see it was Manx and Sakura, but he noticed another girl with them that he wasn't quite sure who she was. He let them, going over to help Takara stand to her feet.  
  
"Good to see your genki, Kuroko, Jiro-kun, Takara-chan." Manx started off. Kuroko nodded, slowly letting go of Takara's hand once he was sure she could stand on her own.  
  
"This girl here is Fujimiya, Aya."  
  
"Aya?" Kuroko questioned, looking to the blue-haired girl. She smiled sweetly, giving a slight bow.  
  
"Hajime mashite."  
  
"A-ah... I knew your brother, Ran." Aya looked a little surprised, but she nodded her head, saying she was glad her brother was reaching out and making friends. Kuroko smiled a little, before it disappeared, turning to Manx.  
  
"Doko ka... minna..." Manx shook her head and began to explain what had happened without giving away too much of Weiss to Aya. Sakura look down crescent; Takara started to cry again, knowing that the dream was right.  
  
"U'so... u'so!!" Jiro yelled out, trying to keep his tears at bay. Even Aya felt a slight pain at the loss of her brother. Kuroko tightened his hands in fists, tilting his head down to the floor; Manx looked at him with great concern. She knew, just as almost everyone else did, he had the greater blow – losing two people who were the closest to him. Ken and Youji.  
  
"Kuroko..."  
  
"It's doesn't matter..." Manx blinked, confused by what the dark blond had said. Kuroko lifted his face up, relaxing his hands; he had, for once, a natural smile on his face, tears running down his cheeks.  
  
"Sometimes, dwelling on the past too much, will get you trapped in the past and never living in the present. To live for the future, is to forget the past just a little, but not too much, or the future seems meaningless..."  
  
"Kuroko-san." Sakura gazed at the dark blond with slightly wide eyes, holding her hands over her chest. Kuroko wiped away his tears, wiping away Takara's and Jiro's as well.  
  
"A lot has changed the two years you were comatose, Aya-san." Aya blinked, holding her hands behind her back out of habit. Kuroko placed a hand on Jiro's head.  
  
"This is Fujimiya, Jiro. Ran had adopted him as his younger brother."  
  
"Hontou ka?" Aya's eyes went wide for a moment, looking down at the raven- head boy. Jiro smiled, going up to Aya; he gently tugged on her dress, getting her to kneel down to his height.  
  
"Ano – can I call you O-nee-chan?" Aya smiled, gently patting Jiro on the head.  
  
"Of course." Jiro smiled, giving Aya a hug. She hugged him back, standing up to her full height once she pulled away. Kuroko helped Takara walked in front of him, holding on to her hand.  
  
"This is Kudou, Takara. Adoptive baby cousin and younger sister to my other baby cousin, Youji."  
  
"Youji-nii-chan is a baby!! He's just as tall as you! He can't be a baby." Takara complained, pouting as she tilted her head back to look up at the older blond. Kuroko smiled, picking the young brunette up in his arms and began to tickle her. Takara squirmed and laughed, asking Kuroko to stop. A mew distracted them, eyeing Ne-chan walking towards them. He jumped, Takara catching him in her arms.  
  
"Oh and this is Neko-chan – Ne-chan for short – he's Youji's kitten."  
  
"Aww, he's adorable!!" Aya squealed, petting Ne-chan on the head. She turned to Kuroko.  
  
"And you?"  
  
"Kudou, Kuroko... and welcome, Aya, to our little family." Kuroko held his hand out to her. Aya stared him in surprise, glancing at his hand; she smiled sweetly, placing her hand over his.  
  
"Arigatou."  
  
"...You're welcome." Kuroko closed his hand over hers, officially making Aya part of the ring of family.  
  
~~~~*~~~~  
  
Kuroko placed the last plant on the display, while Aya was outside watering the plants; he heard Sakura's voice float through, hearing them chat together. He got a little annoyed, stepping outside to talk to the two.  
  
"Oi, Sakura-chan – You give Aya-san a greeting, but you don't even acknowledge my existence!"  
  
"Gomen, Kuroko-kun!" Sakura giggled a little, holding a hand to her face to show an apology. Kuroko smiled, uncrossing his arms.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Takara and Jiro came outside, pushing past Kuroko. The dark blond scolded them slightly, saying they should be more carefully. Sakura greeted them, patting them on the head. The five stood outside the shop chatting; a little down the way, Manx and Birman watched through the window of their car, both had slight smiles on their faces.  
  
Across the street, in the shadows, Youji watched them. He watched Kuroko mess up Jiro's hair, the raven-head yelling at him, trying to get him to stop. He watched as Aya defended Jiro, Kuroko backing off completely. He watched as they laughed and talked, later moving into the shop.  
  
Youji closed his eyes, feeling a sudden coldness flow over his body. He jumped a little at the feel of two arms wrapping around him in a warm embrace.  
  
"Gomen..."  
  
"Iie." The two remained silent, watching the shop activities from afar. Youji felt his tears begin to stream down his face, feeling Ran's fingers gentle wipe them away.  
  
"You will miss them, won't you?"  
  
"We'll all miss them, Ran. Ken will miss Kuro-chan, I'm sure." Ran hummed, resting his face against the taller man's shoulder. Youji reached his hands up to hold onto Ran's arms wrapped around him.  
  
"You're right... I will miss them. Jiro, Takara – and even Ne-chan and Kuroko..."  
  
"Ran...?"  
  
"But – we will someday return to them, right? We can't stay dead forever." Ran stated, closing his eyes lightly. Youji nodded, reaching his hand around for Ran's head; he felt around behind him till he felt soft, red hair.  
  
"I know... but for now... all we can do, is watch."  
  
Owari  
  
Wai! Told you it's the end!! *cries* Endings are always so sad!! *sniffle* Anyways, it's all up to you guys whether you think the ending is sad or not... but I think it's sad.  
  
Anyways – thank you so much, Minna-san! This fic has been my second most successful fic in years. ^^ Thank you all!  
  
Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12)  
  
(PS. Look for the sequel later!) 


End file.
